Department for Transport

Rolling Stock: Procurement

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has received guarantees from train manufacturers on the proportion of UK (a) parts and (b) suppliers for the construction of their trains.

Andrew Jones: Rolling stock procurement is undertaken through fair and open competition, usually by train operators as part of their franchise commitments. As such the Department has received no guarantees in respect of the UK proportion of parts and suppliers that rolling stock manufacturers use for the construction of their trains.

Rolling Stock: Procurement

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what impact assessment his Department conducts when awarding rolling stock contracts to ensure the greatest benefit for the UK economy is delivered.

Andrew Jones: The Government welcomes the investment in the UK through the awarding of rolling stock contracts to UK based manufacturers. Rolling stock procurement is undertaken through fair and open competition, usually by train operators as part of their franchise commitments. As such the Department has not made such impact assessments on rolling stock contracts.

Rolling Stock: Procurement

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the provision of rolling stock contracts to UK suppliers on train factories in the UK.

Andrew Jones: The Government welcomes the investment in the UK through the awarding of rolling stock contracts to UK based manufacturers. Rolling stock procurement is undertaken through fair and open competition, usually by train operators as part of their franchise commitments. The Department has not made such assessments on rolling stock contracts.

Rolling Stock: Procurement

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential negative effect of new train factories on existing rolling stock manufacturing jobs in the (a) UK and (b) North East.

Andrew Jones: The Department has not made such assessments on the effects of rolling stock facilities in the UK. The Government welcomes and supports the establishment of train manufacturing facilities in the UK. This is in line with the re-balancing of the economy and will contribute to the success of the UK after leaving the European Union.

Rolling Stock: Procurement

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) direct and (b) indirect benefits of North East rolling stock manufacturing has on (i) UK rail supply chain an (ii) North East regional economy.

Andrew Jones: The Government welcomes the investment in the UK through the awarding of rolling stock contracts to UK based manufacturers. Rolling stock procurement is undertaken through fair and open competition, usually by train operators as part of their franchise commitments. The Department has not made such assessments on the benefits or effects of rolling stock manufacturing.

Rolling Stock: Procurement

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential negative effect of new train factories on existing rolling stock manufacturing jobs in (a) the UK and (b) the North East

Andrew Jones: The Department has not made such assessments on the effects of rolling stock facilities in the UK. The Government welcomes and supports the establishment of train manufacturing facilities in the UK. This is in line with the re-balancing of the economy and will contribute to the success of the UK after leaving the European Union.

Rolling Stock: Procurement

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what impact assessment his Department conducts when awarding rolling stock contracts to ensure the greatest benefit for the UK economy is delivered.

Andrew Jones: The Government welcomes the investment in the UK through the awarding of rolling stock contracts to UK based manufacturers. Rolling stock procurement is undertaken through fair and open competition, usually by train operators as part of their franchise commitments. As such the Department has not made such impact assessments on rolling stock contracts.

Rolling Stock: Procurement

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guarantees his Department has received from train manufacturers on the proportion of trains that will use UK (a) parts and (b) suppliers.

Andrew Jones: Rolling stock procurement is undertaken through fair and open competition, usually by train operators as part of their franchise commitments. As such the Department has received no guarantees in respect of the UK proportion of parts and suppliers that rolling stock manufacturers use for the construction of their trains.

Rolling Stock: Procurement

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has received a supply chain development plan from (a) Siemens and (b) Talgoin relation to their commitment to build new train factories.

Andrew Jones: The Department has not received a supply chain development plan from either manufacturer. However, Talgo has made a commitment that it will create five jobs in the supply chain for every job it creates in its UK facility should it be successful in winning manufacturing contracts. Siemens expects to indirectly create 1,700 jobs in the supply chain through its UK facility.

A34: Accidents

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) deaths and (b) injuries on the A34 in the last (i) 12 months, (ii) five years and (iii) six months.

Jesse Norman: Data for the last 6 and 12 months have not yet been published by DfT; figures for 2018 are due to be published in summer 2019. The table below shows the figures for the last 5 years for which DfT have data: Fatalities and all casualties on the A34 by severity, 2013 to 2017YearFatalitiesAll casualties201387312014106852015772520161467820176593NB: All casualties figures include the fatalities figures.Source: DfT Stats19

Taxis: Licensing

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will bring forward legislative proposals on taxi and private hire vehicle licensing to improve passenger safety.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The response to the report by the Chair of the Task and Finish Group on Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Licensing issued on 12 February committed to bring forward legislation to enable national minimum standards in licensing, enable greater enforcement powers for licensing officers and to establish a national licensing database to assist in the sharing of relevant information.The Department is currently consulting on draft statutory guidance to be issued to licensing authorities on how they can use their extensive existing powers to protect children and vulnerable adults from harm when using taxi and private hire vehicle services.

Queen's Park Station

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Statement entitled, Access for All: 73 stations set to benefit from additional funding HCWS1484, when upgrades at Queen's Park Station are planned to commence; and what those upgrades will be.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Network Rail will work with stakeholders at individual stations to establish how an accessible route into the station and between each platform can be delivered, before ascertaining when work can commence. All projects are due to be completed by 2024.

Bristow Group: Finance

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 February 2019 to Question 222024, what recent assessment his Department has made of Bristow Group’s financial position.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The current difficulties are contained within Bristow Group and do not affect the Department for Transport’s contract with Bristow Helicopters Limited.The Department will assess Bristow Group’s financial position following the release of its quarterly results to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC). The publication of these results has been delayed and are not yet available.

Parking Offences

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking in relation to the sharing of powers between the police and councils relating to obstruction caused by pavement and grass verge parking.

Jesse Norman: The Department for Transport has recently finished gathering evidence on the problems caused by pavement parking and the effectiveness of current powers. We are considering the findings of this work and will announce any further actions over the coming months.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Service Industries: Pay

Hugh Gaffney: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to increase the pay of workers in the (a) hospitality and (b) retail sectors.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Government is committed to building an economy that works for everyone. We demonstrated this commitment in April by raising the National Living Wage to £8.21, a 4.9% increase from last year, and bringing in inflation-beating rises to the National Minimum Wage. An estimated 2.1 million workers will benefit from the most recent increases, and the annual earnings of a full-time minimum wage worker have increased by over £2,750 since the introduction of the National Living Wage in April 2016. Latest constituency estimates from April 2018 suggest that 2,900 workers in Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill were on one of the minimum wage rates. We estimate that in the UK 429,000 workers in the hospitality sector and 347,000 workers in the retail sector will benefit from the increases in the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage from 1 April 2019. The industry-led Retail Sector Council recently agreed its priority work areas for the next two years, one of which focuses on employment protections. A senior industry figure will lead each of these work groups and bring proposals for action for both industry and Government back to the Council for consideration. The Tourism Industry Council is also working closely with Government Ministers to help improve in-work training and progression opportunities in the tourism and hospitality sector.

Iron and Steel: Manufacturing Industries

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will that steps to (a) remove the electricity price disparity for the steel industry, (b) establish a Future Steel Challenge Fund, (c) strengthen the steel procurement guidelines and their reporting mechanisms, and (d) remove plant and machinery from business rates valuations.

Claire Perry: The Government is committed to minimising energy costs for businesses to ensure that the UK economy remains strong and competitive. We recognise that the UK’s industrial electricity costs are currently higher than those of our competitors, and so we have taken steps to reduce the cumulative impact of energy and climate change policies on the price of industrial electricity for key industries, such as steel. This includes providing the steel sector with over £285m of compensation since 2013 for the indirect costs due to the EU Emission Trading System, carbon price support mechanism, Renewable Obligation, and small-scale Feed-in Tariff. The steel sector is actively engaged with UK Research and Innovation in shaping the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund: we are providing up to £66m for the ‘Transforming Foundation Industries Challenge’, subject to industry co-funding. In addition, up to a further £170 million has been provided to develop a ‘net-zero carbon’ industrial cluster, that will help heavy industries – including steel – to share expertise and innovate low-carbon solutions as we move to a greener, cleaner economy. We have also created an important new fund – the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund – which is worth up to £315 million, and supports businesses with high energy use to transition to a low carbon future, and cut their bills in the process through increased energy efficiency. Recently, we have launched an informal consultation, and are seeking views and evidence on how we can design the fund to maximise its benefits whilst ensuring value for money. The Government published information from departments, and their arm’s length bodies, on the amount of steel procured over the last financial year, and the application of the steel procurement guidance. Departments have confirmed that, where applicable, the guidance for steel procurement has been fully complied with on major projects, and we will continue to work closely with these departments and arm’s length bodies to improve procurement guidance awareness, and the quality of the information provided. We have also published an update of the Steel Pipeline, signalling upcoming steel requirements for national infrastructure projects to UK producers and suppliers. The Government has carefully considered the case for removing plant and machinery (P&M) from business rates valuations, but has decided against doing so. Most process P&M is not rateable, and removing service P&M from rating would mean exempting equipment which is integrated into buildings such as heating, lighting, and plumbing.

Living Wage: Copeland

Trudy Harrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an estimate of the number of workers in Copeland that have benefited from the recent living wage update.

Kelly Tolhurst: Through the National Living Wage (NLW) and National Minimum Wage (NMW), the Government ensures that the lowest paid in our society are fairly rewarded for their work. April 2019’s increase to the NLW will see nearly 1.8 million workers in the UK receive a 4.9% pay rise. In the North West, 222,000 workers will directly benefit from this increase in the NLW. A full-time worker on the NLW will now be more than £2,750 better off over the year compared to when it was first announced in 2015. The most recent available data shows an estimated 3,500 workers in Copeland who were on the NLW or NMW.

Nuclear Power

Trudy Harrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to support the nuclear industry.

Chris Skidmore: This Government continues to believe that nuclear has an important role to play in our future energy mix as long as it provides value for money for taxpayers and consumers. Our commitment is demonstrated in us giving the go ahead for the first new nuclear power station in a generation at Hinkley Point C. The landmark Nuclear Sector Deal, worth over £200m, was launched last June is a demonstration of the strong partnership between government and industry. Support provided by this Government through the Deal includes up to £56m for the development of advanced nuclear technologies, up to £20m for an advanced manufacturing and construction programme, and £86m for a fusion programme at Culham in Oxfordshire.

Fuel Poverty

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to reduce fuel poverty (a) in Coventry and (b) the UK.

Claire Perry: Improving energy efficiency is the best long term solution to tackle fuel poverty. That’s exactly what we are doing through the new Energy Company Obligation scheme which is now entirely focused on low income and vulnerable households. Since ECO launched it has delivered energy efficiency measured to nearly 2 million homes. In Coventry ECO has improved 14,565 homes, representing 10.4% of homes in the city, well above the average delivery rate of 7.2%. Additionally, from 1 April 2019 strengthened energy efficiency regulations came into force for the domestic private rented sector in England and Wales. These regulations require landlords of privately rented homes with an energy efficiency rating of EPC F or G to improve them to a minimum of EPC E before letting the property on a new tenancy, or by 1 April 2020, whichever comes soonest. Approximately 42% of households in privately rented F and G rated accommodation are in fuel poverty. Improving these homes from F or G to E will save households an average of £180 per year on their energy bills. In addition to energy efficiency there is a strong package of financial support. The Warm Home Discount provides a rebate of £140 off the winter energy bill for over 2 million low income and vulnerable households. All pensioner households receive a payment between £100 and £300 each winter through the Winter Fuel Payments. Additional payments of £25 are available for cold periods through the Cold Weather Payment. Also, the energy price cap protects 11 million households from poor value tariffs, saving them a total of £1billion, in addition to the 5 million households already protected.

Boilers: Natural Gas

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the efficiency of condensing A rated domestic gas boilers in normal consumer operation.

Claire Perry: Current standards require all new gas boilers installed in English homes to be A rated. The representation of gas boilers in the government’s Standard Assessment Procedure has been informed by research, to align it with real-world boiler performance. Further information can be found here: https://www.bre.co.uk/sap2012/page.jsp?id=2768.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Taiwan: World Health Organisation

Martin Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the World Health Organisation on (a) Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Assembly as an observer this year and (b) Taiwan's participation in technical meetings of the World Health Organisation.

Mark Field: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office continues to support the Department for Health in lobbying for Taiwan’s participation in World Health Organisation (WHO) meetings. Her Majesty's Government is working with likeminded countries to lobby the WHO at official level to issue an invitation to Taiwan to observe the World Health Assembly (WHA) in May. The UK continues to support Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organisations where statehood is not a prerequisite and where Taiwan can make a valuable contribution. The UK believes the WHA and the related technical meetings of the WHO meet these criteria.

Nigeria: Christianity

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Nigerian counterpart on the persecution of Christians in Nigeria.

Harriett Baldwin: ​We regularly engage faith-based organisations and raise appropriate concerns with the Nigerian government on the persecution of Christians by Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa. Our assessment remains that religious identity is one among a number of factors in recent incidents of intercommunal violence across parts of Nigeria, although the root causes are complex, and include disputes over land, farming rights, the impact of climate change, grazing routes and access to water. Our High Commission in Abuja is engaging closely with international partners, the Nigerian Government, state governments and the National Economic Council on the development of measures to address the underlying causes of the conflict.

Saudi Arabia: Religious Freedom

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Saudi Arabian counterpart on (a) reports of the persecution of minorities and (b) the ability to attend religious meetings without fear of persecution in that country.

Mark Field: Saudi Arabia remains a Foreign and Commonwealth Office human rights priority country, particularly because of the use of the death penalty, women’s rights and restrictions on freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and freedom of religion or belief. The British Government strongly supports the right to freedom of religion or belief, which is restricted in Saudi Arabia. We have made these views clear to the Saudi authorities. The UK position was made clear in the UK Statement for Saudi Arabia’s Universal Periodic Review adoption in March 2019.​

Pakistan: Christianity

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Pakistani counterpart on the persecution of Christians in that country.

Mark Field: We remain deeply concerned by the treatment of minority religious communities in Pakistan. This includes Christian communities throughout the country, including in Karachi.We regularly raise our human rights concerns with the Government of Pakistan at a senior level, including when the Foreign Secretary saw Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, in December 2018. Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief, raised the treatment of minority communities with Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Human Rights, Dr Shireen Mazari, on 19 February during his visit to Pakistan. At the UN Universal Periodic Review of Pakistan in November 2017, the UK pressed Pakistan to strengthen the protection of minorities, including by establishing an independent National Commission for Minorities.On 30 January 2019, the Foreign Secretary and the Rt Revd Philip Mounstephen, Bishop of Truro, launched an Independent Review of Foreign and Commonwealth Office support for persecuted Christians overseas.

Pakistan: Christianity

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to help tackle the persecution of Christians in Karachi, Pakistan.

Mark Field: We remain deeply concerned by the treatment of minority religious communities in Pakistan. This includes Christian communities throughout the country, including in Karachi.We regularly raise our human rights concerns with the Government of Pakistan at a senior level, including when the Foreign Secretary saw Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, in December 2018. Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief, raised the treatment of minority communities with Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Human Rights, Dr Shireen Mazari, on 19 February during his visit to Pakistan. At the UN Universal Periodic Review of Pakistan in November 2017, the UK pressed Pakistan to strengthen the protection of minorities, including by establishing an independent National Commission for Minorities.On 30 January 2019, the Foreign Secretary and the Rt Revd Philip Mounstephen, Bishop of Truro, launched an Independent Review of Foreign and Commonwealth Office support for persecuted Christians overseas.

Commonwealth: LGBT People

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he plans to take to support civil society groups (a) in Brunei and (b) throughout the Commonwealth who are protesting against the new laws on LGBT+ people.

Mark Field: A state of emergency has existed in Brunei since the revolt in 1962. This has meant that freedoms of expression and assembly have been curtailed, and there are strict controls on civil society organisations. As such, there are few civil society pressure groups in Brunei.Despite this, the British Government works closely with a range of civil society organisations, such as The Commonwealth Equality Network, which works tirelessly to end discrimination and violence on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. At last year’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, the Prime Minister made clear that nobody should face persecution or discrimination for who they are or whom they love. We have since allocated £5.6 million to enable the Equality and Justice Alliance – a consortium of civil society organisations – to support those countries who wish to reform legislation which discriminates on the grounds of gender identity or sexual orientation.We will continue to encourage and work with the Government of Brunei, as with many other countries, to remove corporal and capital punishment from its statutes. We will also urge Brunei to take steps to decriminalise, and pass laws to protect LGBT people from all forms of discrimination.

Dayton

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the effect on the Dayton Agreement of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Sir Alan Duncan: The UK's commitment to peace and stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement, as a member of the Peace Implementation Council in our own right, does not depend on our membership of the EU. Indeed, at the Western Balkans Summit last July the Prime Minister announced a doubling of our bilateral assistance and a substantial increase to our staffing in the region, with security a major priority.EUFOR is mandated by the UN to implement the military aspects of Dayton. The UK fully supports the objectives of EUFOR Operation Althea, its continuing UN Chapter VII mandate, and the Berlin Plus arrangements from which it benefits. We will continue to do so as we leave the EU, and we intend to maintain a contribution to the Operation. In the event of a No Deal Brexit a separate agreement with the EU would be required for UK troops to continue in the Operation. We have made clear to the EU that we are open to reaching such an agreement.

Attorney General

Knives: Crime

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Attorney General, what recent discussions he has had with the CPS on the effectiveness of prosecution in cases involving knife crime.

Robert Buckland: The CPS continues to prosecute knife crime robustly. The Attorney General, the Director of Public Prosecutions and I have participated in discussions on delivering the Government’s Serious Violence Strategy. Both the CPS and AGO were represented by the Solicitor General at the Prime Minister’s recent Serious Youth Violence Summit between 1st and 4th April, and will be represented on the Prime Ministers Serious Violence Implementation Taskforce by the Law Officers.

Forced Marriage: Prosecutions

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Attorney General, what steps the CPS is taking to increase the rate of prosecution of people who are responsible for forced marriages.

Robert Buckland: The CPS takes the prosecution of forced marriage allegations very seriously. Each CPS Area has an identified prosecutor to lead on or deal with these cases. The CPS keeps its legal guidance under review to assist prosecutors to meet these challenges. This will shortly be revised to address cases where the victim lacks capacity to consent to marriage because of a condition affecting their mental functioning. At a national level there exists a joint police and CPS forced marriage working group, which has developed a protocol for investigations and prosecutions as well as training for prosecutors.

GPT Special Project Management

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Attorney General, when did Department received a request from the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to give consent to a prosecution in relation to the SFO's investigation into GPT Special Project Management and aspects of the conduct of that organisation's business in Saudi Arabia; and what his Department's response was to the SFO's request.

Mr Geoffrey Cox: I am not able to provide any specific information about an on-going investigation by the Serious Fraud Office. I can confirm that I am aware of this case and I receive regular case updates in relation to it.

Department of Health and Social Care

Obesity

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to establish the cost of obesity to the (a) NHS, (b) social services and (c) the wider economy.

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the cost of obesity to the (a) NHS, (b) social services and (c) wider economy.

Seema Kennedy: ‘The economic burden of ill health due to diet, physical inactivity, smoking, alcohol and obesity in the UK: an update to 2006-07 NHS costs’ estimated that overweight and obesity cost the National Health Service in the United Kingdom £5.1 billion per year. This figure was uplifted to £6.1 billion in 2014/15 to take account of inflation. The Foresight team published ‘Tackling Obesities: Future Choices in 2007’. This estimated the annual costs of overweight and obesity to society and the economy as £27 billion in 2015, based on obesity prevalence at the time. In 2014 the McKinsey Global Institute estimated the cost of obesity to the UK economy as £46 billion per year. No further estimates of the costs of obesity are planned or have been made centrally. Copies of ‘The economic burden of ill health due to diet, physical inactivity, smoking, alcohol and obesity in the UK: an update to 2006-07 NHS costs’; ‘Tackling Obesities: Future Choices’; and the McKinsey Global Institute’s report ‘Overcoming obesity: An initial economic analysis’ are available at the following links: https://academic.oup.com/jpubhealth/article/33/4/527/1568587 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reducing-obesity-future-choices www.mckinsey.com/industries/healthcare-systems-and-services/our-insights/how-the-world-could-better-fight-obesity

Orthopaedics

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the conclusions of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Vascular and Venous Disease report entitled Saving Limbs, Saving Lives: A Call to Action to Reduce Inequalities in Lower Limb Amputation Rates; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Vascular and Venous Disease entitled Saving Limbs, Saving Lives: A Call to Action to Reduce Inequalities in Lower Limb Amputation Rates, what steps he will take to address disparities in amputation rates throughout the UK.

Seema Kennedy: The specialised commissioning Clinical Reference Group (CRG) for Vascular Disease, together with NHS Improvement’s Getting it Right First Time (GIRFT) team, aims to address many of the issues raised in the report. There is a joint NHS England and GIRFT Board for the ‘Action on Vascular’ work, which is focusing on the early availability of treatments to increase lower limb circulation and reduce amputation rates. The NHS Long Term Plan published on 7 January commits to ensuring that hospitals provide patients with access to multi-disciplinary footcare teams and inpatient specialist nursing teams, in order to improve recovery and reduce lengths of stay and future readmissions. This commitment will support reducing inequalities by giving universal access to multi-disciplinary footcare teams and diabetes inpatient specialist nurses.

Cytomegalovirus

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve the (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment of cytomegalovirus in infants and children.

Seema Kennedy: Experts advise that cytomegalovirus (CMV) remains difficult to diagnose because in the majority of cases the baby presents normally at birth. In 2017, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecology (RCOG) published an update for the treatment of congenital CMV infection, acknowledging that therapeutic options such as antiviral therapy are still being evaluated within the research setting. The RCOG will consider whether the paper needed to be updated. Departmental officials will be meeting the charity CMV Action next month to discuss their recommendations to prevent, diagnose and intervene.

Cytomegalovirus

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase (a) awareness of and (b) education on cytomegalovirus among parents and children.

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase (a) awareness of and (b) education on cytomegalovirus among pregnant women.

Seema Kennedy: Health visitors and midwives, together with other health care professionals including general practitioners and general practice nurses provide advice and guidance to families at contacts in the pre-conception period, pregnancy and throughout early childhood. To support direct clinical advice from health care professionals, Public Health England’s Start4Life social marketing programme informs parents-to-be and parents about cytomegalovirus via its Information Service for Parents subscription email service. This includes links to the National Health Service website, and information on preventative measures, including good hand hygiene. Start4Life also provides this messaging through its social media channels.

Cytomegalovirus

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has conducted research to establish the effectiveness of treatments for cytomegalovirus.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and is the largest public funder of health research in the United Kingdom. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including human cytomegalovirus (HCMV). These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. In all disease areas, the amount of NIHR funding depends on the volume and quality of scientific activity. The NIHR has recently funded a number of research projects on treatments for HCMV. These include a study on the use of adoptive cellular therapy in combination with the standard best available antiviral drug therapy for the treatment of CMV, and a study to assess the safety and efficacy of Maribavir treatment in transplant recipients with HCMV.

Cytomegalovirus

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what research his Department has undertaken into the prevalence of cytomegalovirus in newborn babies.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and is the largest public funder of health research in the United Kingdom. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including human cytomegalovirus (HCMV). These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. In all disease areas, the amount of NIHR funding depends on the volume and quality of scientific activity. The NIHR has recently funded a number of research projects on HCMV. These include work to develop a low-cost, easy to use diagnostic device suitable for large scale screening of HCMV in newborn babies and the development of a rapid, low cost HCMV diagnostic.

Cytomegalovirus

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the costs incurred to NHS England each year of treating cytomegalovirus.

Seema Kennedy: This information is not held centrally. The range of procedures and diagnoses that may cover cytomegalovirus mean it is not possible to provide a cost of treatment.

NHS

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the impact assessments on the UK leaving the EU that he instructed NHS trusts to carry out in October 2018.

Stephen Hammond: The self-assessment exercise referred to related only to non-clinical goods and services received by National Health Service trusts from external suppliers. The Department does not intend to publish the details of this impact assessment, as it contains supplier specific information that is considered to be commercially confidential.

Dermatology

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are being taken by (a) his Department, (b) NHS England and (c) NICE to ensure there is a NICE clinical guideline and quality standard in place for atopic dermatitis in adults.

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department supports the prioritisation of atopic dermatitis in adults as a topic for guideline development by NICE.

Seema Kennedy: NHS England is the principal commissioner of clinical guidelines and National Health Service related quality standards from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). NICE and NHS England have been in discussion about developing a clinical guideline and quality standard on atopic dermatitis (eczema) in adults. NHS England has recently consulted on a draft policy which included the prescribing of emollient bath and shower preparations for dry and pruritic skin conditions and will consider the appropriateness of referring a guideline on atopic dermatitis in adults to NICE after the consultation responses have been reviewed. Details of this can be seen in the consultation document at the following link: https://www.engage.england.nhs.uk/consultation/items-routinely-prescribed-update/user_uploads/low-priority-prescribing-consultation-guidance.pdf

Dermatology

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure patient experience is at the heart of commissioning for adult atopic dermatitis services in England.

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many meetings his Department has had with (a) patient and (b) professional atopic dermatitis groups in the last 12 months.

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to support the provision of psychodermatology services across England.

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect of the incidence of atopic dermatitis on (a) patients’ out of pocket expenses, (b) lost work days and (c) mental health services.

Seema Kennedy: The commissioning and configuration of dermatology services in England is a local matter. The majority of patients with dermatological disorders are managed in primary and community care and the local National Health Service is best placed to make decisions that ensure services meet the needs of resident populations in the most appropriate way. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published guidance on a number of dermatological conditions, including eczema, also known as atopic dermatitis, to support commissioners to plan and deliver services for local populations. ‘Atopic eczema in under 12’s: diagnosis and management’ includes recommendations that healthcare professionals should adopt a holistic approach at each consultation, taking into account severity of a condition and the impact this may have on quality of life. Healthcare professionals should be aware that all categories of severity of atopic eczema, even mild, can have a negative impact on psychological and psychosocial wellbeing and quality of life and that assessment of wellbeing should be carried out at every consultation. Furthermore, the guidance recommends using validated tools in the management of patients, such as Children's Dermatology Life Quality Index, Infants' Dermatitis Quality of Life Index or Dermatitis Family Impact questionnaire for quality of life. Where quality of life and psychosocial wellbeing has not improved despite treatment and improvement, patients should be referred for psychological advice. The guidance can be found at the following link: www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg57 As set out in the NHS Long Term Plan, published on 7 January 2019, NHS England is taking action in range of areas to improve the care treatment and support provided to people with long term conditions. As part of this, it is continuing its expansion of Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) services for adults with common mental health problems, with a focus on those with long-term conditions. IAPT services have now evolved to deliver benefits to people with long-term conditions, providing genuinely integrated care. By 2023/24, an additional 380,000 adults will be able to access IAPT services. No assessment has been made on the impact of atopic dermatitis on patient expenses, work days and mental health services. No meetings regarding atopic dermatitis have taken place in the last 12 months.

NHS: Standards

Sir David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to reduce waiting times (a) for NHS operations and (b) between admission and treatment at A&E throughout London.

Stephen Hammond: There is significant work underway to improve waiting times both throughout London and nationally. Locally, at Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust and wider South East London Sustainability and Transformation Partnership for example, there are several plans in place to improve accident and emergency (A&E) and elective care waiting times. In relation to A&E, a new clinical facility at Queen Elizabeth Hospital has increased bed capacity by 44 beds; the SAFER and Red2Green programme is working to improve discharges processes so that more patients are not only discharged on time but are also admitted more quickly; and there has been an increase in the number of clinical staff in the Urgent Care Centre to meet the unexpected increase in number of patients from the beginning of March. For elective care, a theatre productivity programme is in place to increase the number of patients who undergo an operation at the Trust during 2019/20, and an outpatient transformation programme is increasing the efficiency of the outpatients’ department, reducing the waiting times for patients who require an outpatients’ appointment. For cancer, the Trust is working with the south-east London cancer network to improve cancer pathways so that waiting times are reduced. The Trust has also secured additional endoscopy capacity to ensure additional patients can undergo diagnosis tests at weekends. Reducing elective care waiting times continues to be a high priority for the NHS. The NHS Long Term Plan sets out the NHS priorities going forward and reiterates the focus to increase the amount of planned surgery year-on-year, to cut long waits, and reduce the size of hospital waiting lists. The Clinical Standards Review is all part of delivering the clear commitments set out in the NHS Long Term Plan to improve urgent and emergency care performance and reduce provider waiting lists over the next five years, as well as delivering the new ambitions set out, all within the final long-term funding settlement. The clinically-led review of standards is considering the appropriateness of operational standards for physical and mental health relating to planned, unplanned urgent or emergency care, as well as cancer.

General Practitioners: Bexley

Sir David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting time for patients to see their GP in Bexley has been for (a) non-emergency appointments and (b) emergency appointments in the last twelve months.

Seema Kennedy: Bexley Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) currently only captures data from four of its 23 general practices due to interoperability issues with one of the clinical system suppliers. However, national roll out of a new system to share this data is expected this month, meaning the relevant data for the remaining practices in Bexley should be available from May 2019. The time between booking an appointment with a general practice and having the appointment, in days, for the practices where data is currently collected in Bexley CCG is presented in the attached table for the last available published date which was February 2019. A 12 month average from March 2018 - February 2019 has also been presented along with a comparison to the average across all appointments in England. NHS Digital’s ‘Appointments in General Practice’ data is published monthly with a two-month time lag. The appointments data does not differentiate between emergency and routine appointments in general practice and the ‘time from booking to appointment’ does not take into consideration that many patients will be appropriately booking ahead as part of the continuity of care they receive for long-term conditions.  BexleyEnglandBexleyEngland February 2019March 2018 to February 2019Same Day35.8%42.3%38.1%42.2%1 Day6.2%6.8%6.8%6.8%2 to 7 Days20.6%19.8%22.9%20.1%8 to 14 Days20.1%14.4%17.2%13.8%15 to 21 Days8.5%7.6%7.4%7.4%22 to 28 Days5.8%5.1%4.7%5.0%More than 28 Days2.9%4.0%3.0%4.7%Total100.0%100.0%100.0%100.0% The time between booking an appointment with a general practice and having the appointment, in days, for all data available in Bexley CCG is presented above for the last published month February 2019 and as a 12 month average from March 2018 - February 2019 along with a comparison to the average across all appointments in England.Notes:Data has only been able to be captured from up to four out of the 23 GP practices in Bexley due to interoperability issues with one of the clinical system suppliers.NHS Digital currently only publish data from Egton Medical Information Systems (EMIS) and The Phoenix Partnership (TPP) practice systems but are working with other general practitioner (GP) systems to bring them on board in future developments.There are several factors that drive the time from a booking to an appointment. This includes appointment availability at the practice, patient availability, the urgency of the appointment and GP advice.The data does not differentiate between emergency and routine appointments in general practice.The data does not include any information about the patients or clinical information.The data in the response includes appointments with all healthcare professional types, including GPs and other practice staff.Not all practices in England are included in the appointments in general practice publication, meaning the total number of appointments is not known.Same day and next day bookings are of particular interest so are presented here separately. Further bookings are presented grouped by weeks.The number of appointments that have already happened is provided as recorded in participating EMIS and TPP practices in England. The data presented only contains information which was captured on the GP practice systems. This limits the activity reported on and does not represent all work happening within a primary care setting.

NHS: Consultants

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the pensions annual allowance tax on the availability of NHS consultants.

Stephen Hammond: The Department recognises that the annual allowance may contribute to decisions from National Health Service consultants to retire early or limit their NHS commitments. We are also listening carefully to concerns raised by senior doctors and NHS employers about the impact of the tapered annual allowance. In listening to concerns, the Department has sought to make available to NHS Pension Scheme members all possible flexibility under Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs legislation and the current fiscal framework for public sector pension schemes. The scope of the voluntary ‘Scheme Pays’ facility, implemented by the NHS Pension Scheme to allow scheme members to pay annual allowance charges from the value of their pension benefits rather than upfront, has been extended to cover the payment of tax charges from breaches of the tapered annual allowance. The Government keeps the impact of public sector pay and pensions policies under constant review.

Health Services

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what comparative assessment he has made of the effectiveness of (a) Integrated Care Organisations and (b) pre-existing NHS England arrangements; and what assessment he has made of the effect of those (a) organisations and (b) arrangements on patient care.

Seema Kennedy: Integrated Care Organisations’ is not a term currently used by NHS England, so the answer below refers to Integrated Care Providers. ‘Integrated Care Provider’ (ICP) is a term used to describe a provider that is responsible for the integrated provision of general practice, wider National Health Service and potentially local authority services, which enters into an ICP contract with the commissioner(s) of those services. The ICP would be a ‘lead’ provider organisation, and so would be contractually responsible for delivering integrated services for local people. An ICP is not a new type of legal entity, but simply the name for a provider organisation awarded an ICP contract. The ICP contract is itself a variant of the generic NHS Standard Contract (which is already used to commission a broad range of NHS services) and has been specifically designed to enable integration through a single contract that could be used to commission both primary medical services and other health and care services. There are not yet any ICPs in place in England. However, NHS England plans to study the effects of the first ICP contracts that come into being and share learning with others that may follow. Where a clinical commissioning group (CCG) proposes to use the ICP contract in future, proposals will be subject to successful completion of the Integrated Support and Assurance Process, managed by NHS England and NHS Improvement, before the ICP Contract is awarded. Further information about ICPs is available in NHS England’s package of consultation materials and response to consultation, which are available at the following link: https://www.engage.england.nhs.uk/consultation/proposed-contracting-arrangements-for-icps/

Clinical Priorities Advisory Group

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans NHS England has to utilise the NICE Commissioning Support Programme for the development of national clinical policies not yet scheduled for review by the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to allow members of the public to attend meetings of the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when NHS England plans to roll out the use of patient impact reports as part of its clinical policy development process.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the NHS England prioritisation process was first implemented; and whether NHS England undertaken a public consultation on that process.

Seema Kennedy: There are several policy propositions currently being developed through the Commissioning Support Programme which will be considered by the Clinical Priorities Advisory group (CPAG) at future meetings. Members of the public will be able to attend the CPAG prioritisation meeting in May 2019, attendance being through a registration process. The use of patient impact reports is a part of a pilot which will be evaluated and considered by NHS England. The whole process of commissioning policy and service specification development has previously been consulted on and the documented process is published on the NHS England website at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/methods-national-service-specifications/

NHS: Innovation

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to encourage technology innovation in the NHS.

Jackie Doyle-Price: There are many programmes of work underway supported by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care across Government to encourage technology innovation in the National Health Service. We have provided over £100 million in funding to support the development and adoption of health tech innovations across the NHS. In October 2018 the Department published ‘The future of healthcare: our vision for digital, data and technology in health and care’ which outlined what is needed to enable the health and care system to make the best use of technology to support preventative, predictive and personalised care. There is also ongoing work to encourage adoption of data-driven technology with the latest iteration of the Code of Conduct for data-driven technology published in February 2019. We have also announced the creation of NHSX, a joint unit which from July will mandate the use of internationally-recognised tech and data standards across the NHS.

Food: Safety

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help improve food safety.

Seema Kennedy: Food safety policy is the responsibility of the Food Standards Agency (FSA), a non-Ministerial Government Department, which works to protect public health and consumers' wider interests in food. The FSA is concerned with the safety of food right along the food supply chain, from when it is produced, to when it is served on the plate. As the national authority responsible for food safety, we set the regulations that food businesses are obliged to follow, and work with local authorities across England, Wales and Northern Ireland to make sure those regulations are enforced.The FSA has delivered a robust regulatory regime that is responsive, scientifically-based and able to provide a high level of assurance for consumers in the food they eat. The FSA is working closely with consumers, local government and industry stakeholders, on modernising the regulatory regime so that it is more risk-based, data-driven and fit-for-purpose.For example, the FSA has worked closely with industry on reducing Campylobacter contamination over a number of years. This has seen the highest contamination levels of Campylobacter fall from an average of 19% in 2014/15 to 5% in 2016/17 in surveys of whole, UK produced chicken undertaken at retail level. Latest levels according to major retailers’ data show an average of 3.1% for October-December 2018.As part of the FSA’s preparations for EU Exit and regulatory reform, the FSA is heavily investing in its scientific capability and capacity, strengthening its approach to surveillance and horizon scanning, and ensuring a cost-effective national and coordinated approach to food crime.The FSA is currently reviewing its strategy, making sure that the Department can respond to both existing and emerging challenges, focusing on key issues and societal developments, such as allergens, so that consumers can continue to enjoy food they can trust.

Veterans: Mental Health Services

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to provide adequate mental health support for veterans; and if he will make a statement.

Jackie Doyle-Price: In England, veterans are able to make use of both mainstream and veteran specific mental health services. NHS England’s Transition, Intervention and Liaison service supports serving personnel who need additional support as they are leaving the armed forces and veterans who have mental health issues. Numbers indicate that around 5,000 individuals are passing through this service each year. There are three elements to the service:- in-reach services for those in transition, leading up to, and leaving the armed forces;- services for veterans with complex presentation; and- general services for veterans.In 2018 NHS England launched their Complex Treatment Service, this has been designed to support veterans with complex mental health issues that have not improved with previous treatment. It provides a range of intensive care and treatment that may include but is not limited to support for drug and alcohol misuse, physical health, employment, housing, relationships and finances, as well as occupational and trauma focused therapies. In December last year NHS England Long Term Plan announced a further £10 million to expand these services and seek ways to close the gaps in current mental health provision to capture those individuals that are nearing crisis. Veterans are also able to use mainstream mental health service and are utilising these services with very positive outcomes, often better than the general population. Over 20,000 use Improving Access to Psychological Services each year and many more access other NHS mental health services.

Operating Theatres

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve efficiency in operating theatres.

Stephen Hammond: NHS Improvement has an ongoing programme to help trusts reduce their waiting times for patients by making better use of their theatre time. This has been supported by their theatre productivity report ‘Operating theatres: opportunities to reduce waiting lists’ which includes insights to support clinicians, managers and hospital leaders to further challenge themselves to improve how care is delivered and how valuable theatre resources and clinical expertise can be best used. NHS Improvement is taking steps to help trusts meet the challenges outlined in the report, including:- Running workshops in the five English National Health Service regions so that trusts can learn from those that have made productivity and capacity gains through structured improvement work; - Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) is supporting trusts to deliver quality and productivity improvements for patients in many surgical specialties; and - NHS Improvement’s regional teams are supporting trusts with theatre improvement work, using the insights from our analysis and drawing on expert advice from the GIRFT programme. ‘Operating theatres: opportunities to reduce waiting lists’ is available via the following link: https://improvement.nhs.uk/resources/operating-theatres-opportunities-reduce-waiting-lists/

Joint Replacements

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people that have had a (a) hip, (b) knee and (c) shoulder replacement had to have a second replacement within 10 to 20 years in each of the last five years.

Stephen Hammond: The information requested is not centrally collected.

NHS: Staff

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are being taken to help NHS staff experiencing (a) stress and (b) depression.

Stephen Hammond: Supporting the mental health of National Health Service staff is the responsibility of NHS employers. NHS trusts are being supported to do this through the NHS staff health and wellbeing framework and NHS Improvement’s NHS staff health and wellbeing collaborative. Both incorporate the mental health standards in ‘Thriving at Work – a review of mental health and employers’ produced by Mind. Recommendations from the ‘NHS Staff and Learner Mental Wellbeing Programme’ report are being prioritised. The report contained recommendations to support improved mental wellbeing and address gaps or deficiencies in the system, including:- the introduction of the Well Being Guardian in every NHS trust and for primary care at a local level to be determined; - the development of personal wellbeing supervisors for learners that are distinct from those assessing the learner and check-ins with those tutors within two weeks of placement; - a national NHS protocol implemented in every NHS organisation to independently examine the death by suicide of any member of NHS staff or a learner working in the NHS; and - the creation of/facilitating access to ‘safe spaces’ which are accessible to all to be used for reflection, learning and during breaks. The Workforce Implementation Plan (WIP) announced in the NHS Long Term Plan is prioritising recommendations from Health Education England’s ‘Mental Health Commission on NHS staff and learners’ which should give staff access to board level Well Being Guardians and personal wellbeing supervisors, complementing work with the Care Quality Commission and NHS Improvement to ensure staff have high quality supportive supervision and are not asked to work excessive hours. Staff now report any pressure to work excessive hours to the Guardian of Safe Working. The WIP is also expected to include proposals for making the NHS the best place to work with further commitments to improve staff health and wellbeing, tackling violence, abuse and bullying of staff and provide better opportunities for flexible working.

Teenage Pregnancy

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the cost to the public purse has been of the teenage pregnancy unit in each year since its creation; and how many civil servants were employed within it in each of those years.

Seema Kennedy: Holding answer received on 08 April 2019



The Teenage Pregnancy Unit was established to drive delivery of national work to reduce under 18 conceptions by 2010. Details of staff numbers and the costs involved are no longer held. Since 2010 this work has been devolved to local authorities. Between 2010 and 2016, the latest year for which data is available, under 18 conceptions fell by 45%.

Viagra: Misuse

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the trends in the level of the use of Sildenafil for social use; and what safeguards are in place to prevent the sale of Sildenafil over the counter to consumers without a medical need.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has not undertaken an assessment of the trends in the level of the use of sildenafil for social use. There are legal controls on the sale of medicines over-the-counter and those classified as pharmacy only medicines which may only be sold or supplied by or under the supervision of a pharmacist on registered pharmacy premises. This applies equally to online sales. Risk minimisation measures have been put in place to support the safe supply of sildenafil over the counter to adult men over 18 with erectile dysfunction. These include restricting the sale from pharmacies by or under the supervision of a pharmacist and providing pharmacy training support materials and a checklist for use in pharmacies when supplying the product. A study is being undertaken to measure whether the over-the-counter sildenafil product is supplied appropriately in line with the authorised indication and conditions for safe use.

NHS: Pensions

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the cumulative effect on NHS (a) staff and (b) patients of the (i) reduction in annual allowance for pension growth, (ii) introduction of the tapering of the annual allowance and (iii) introduction of the 2015 NHS pension scheme.

Stephen Hammond: The Department recognises that the tapered annual allowance may contribute to decisions from National Health Service staff to retire early or limit their NHS commitments. We are listening carefully to concerns raised by senior doctors and NHS employers about the impact of the tapered annual allowance. In listening to concerns, the Department has sought to make available to NHS Pension Scheme members all possible flexibility under Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs legislation and the current fiscal framework for public sector pension schemes. The scope of the voluntary ‘Scheme Pays’ facility, implemented by the NHS Pension Scheme to allow scheme members to pay annual allowance charges from the value of their pension benefits rather than upfront, has been extended to cover the payment of tax charges from breaches of the tapered annual allowance. The Government keeps the impact of public sector pay and pensions policies under constant review. The 2015 NHS Pension Scheme is a generous and valuable part of staff reward packages and remains one of the best schemes available. As it is a career average pension scheme it delivers a fairer pension to all members compared with the previous final salary pension scheme that favoured those higher earners with higher career pay progression. Its introduction ensures that NHS staff receive financial security in retirement, and that the scheme is affordable to the taxpayer.

Maternity Services

Trudy Harrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support maternity services.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Our programme of transformation in maternity services will make the National Health Service one of the best places in the world to give birth by supporting maternity services to deliver safer more personalised care for mothers and babies. The NHS Long Term Plan built on the progress to implement the findings of the national maternity review set out in ‘Better Births’ in 2016, and commits us to continue to work with midwives, mothers and their families to implement the ‘continuity of carer’ recommendation. This will mean that, by March 2021, most women will receive continuity of the person caring for them during pregnancy, during birth and postnatally. Within this, 75% of women from black and minority ethnic groups and disadvantaged communities will have continuity of carer by the end of 2023-24, as the evidence suggests that it particularly improves outcomes for this group. We also aim to improve safety by rolling out the Saving Babies’ Lives Care Bundle to every maternity unit in England in 2019. The Bundle supports services in reducing still births, with a new focus on preventing pre-term birth. Every trust in England with a maternity and neonatal service is now part of the National Maternal and Neonatal Health Safety Collaborative, which is supporting practical improvements to make care safer in all maternity units. Through this, we are supporting a culture of multidisciplinary team working and learning, vital for safe, high-quality maternity care. By 2022-23 pre-term birth clinics, Fetal Medicine Services and Maternal Medicine Networks will be rolled out nationally to provide access to more specialist expertise to women, babies and the clinicians caring for them. To underpin the improvements to care, the NHS Long Term Plan committed to the digitisation of maternity information so that by 2023-24 all women will be able to access their maternity notes and information through their smart phones or other devices. In March 2018, the Department announced plans to train more than 3,000 extra midwives over four years. The Government is providing extra funding for clinical placement costs for 650 students in 2019-20 with planned increases of 1,000 in the subsequent years. The Maternity Workforce Strategy was published in March 2019 by Health Education England to outline how the requirements of Better Births and the ambition to halve stillbirths, neonatal and maternal deaths by 50% by 2025, would be met. This will be achieved through retaining experienced and skilled maternity staff, as well as supporting employers to upskill and develop their workforces through new roles and new ways of working. This includes rolling out the ‘Maternity Support Worker’ role with a national competency, education and career framework; and new routes to becoming a registered midwife, including via apprenticeships.

Better Care Fund

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the budget for is the Better Care Fund in (a) 2019-20, (b) 2020-21 and (c) 2021-22; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Dinenage: The Government is committed to supporting the integration of health and care. We intend to publish the Better Care Fund (BCF) Policy Framework and Planning Requirements for 2019-20 shortly. For 2020 onwards, the Government is conducting a review of the BCF to make sure it is meeting its goals. We will announce further detail later this year.

NHS

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to The Health and Social Care Act 2012, Section 23 The NHS Commissioning Board: further provision, when he plans to publish and lay before Parliament the NHS mandate for 2019-20; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: For 2019-20, the Government has combined the mandate to NHS England and the remit for NHS Improvement into a single Accountability Framework with both arm’s length bodies. This reflects their shared role in leading the National Health Service to take forward its Long Term Plan, with 2019-20 being a critical year as the NHS transitions into full Plan implementation. We will lay and publish the document at the earliest practical opportunity.

MMR Vaccine

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate his Department has made of the child MMR vaccination rates.

Seema Kennedy: Public Health England routinely monitors coverage for the national immunisation programme, including the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine on a quarterly and annual basis. National coverage figures reported for the MMR first dose as measured at five years show coverage, which reached the World Health Organization recommended target level of 95% for the first-time last year, was 94.9% in England in 2017-18. Uptake of the second MMR dose by age five years in England was 87.2%. The 2017/18 data can be viewed at the following link: https://files.digital.nhs.uk/55/D9C4C2/child-vacc-stat-eng-2017-18-report.pdf

Department for International Development

Developing Countries: Tuberculosis

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department has taken to meet commitments made at the 2018 UN High Level Meeting on Tuberculosis.

Harriett Baldwin: The UK helped to develop the political declaration agreed at the UNGA 2018 High-Level Meeting on TB. The UK is now working with other Member States to develop an accountability framework to ensure that momentum is maintained and to hold all countries which signed the political declaration to account. DFID is focused on supporting low income countries to achieve these commitments. As the second largest donor to the Global Fund, we invest significantly in TB prevention, diagnosis and treatment. We invest in research to develop new tools to tackle TB, including diagnostics and treatments targeted at drug resistant TB. We also support countries to strengthen health systems that can deliver quality TB programmes.

Developing Countries: Tuberculosis

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support her Department provides to help tackle Tuberculosis throughout the world.

Harriett Baldwin: The UK is a global leader in tackling TB and is currently the second largest investor in the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and malaria, providing £1.2 billion in the 5th replenishment (2017 – 2019). The Global Fund helped to treat 5 million people for TB in 2017. The UK has significant investments through health multilaterals such as the World Health Organisation (WHO), which provides technical leadership on tackling TB and strengthening health systems. We also invest in Unitaid, which is supporting the introduction of new drug-resistant TB drugs and the development of new paediatric TB medicines for children in some of the world’s poorest countries. We also fund research and product development into more effective diagnosis and treatment and we support countries to strengthen health systems that can deliver quality TB programmes. The UK Government also pushes for global action on TB through the G7 and G20 and our work with the WHO, Global Fund and other key institutions.

Yemen: Humanitarian Aid

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what progress her Department has made on the distribution of the £200 million pledged in Geneva on 26 February 2019 by the Government for the alleviation of the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

Harriett Baldwin: On 24 February, the Prime Minister announced that the UK would provide an additional £200 million in response to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen for the coming 2019/20 financial year. This support brings the total UK commitment to Yemen to £770 million since the conflict began in 2015 and will provide vital food assistance right across the country to those most at risk of dying from starvation and disease, meeting the immediate food needs of more than 1 million Yemenis each month over the year, treating 30,000 children for malnutrition and providing over 1 million people with improved water supply and basic sanitation. Now that the 2019/20 financial year has begun we will make our first disbursements of this funding over the coming weeks.

Yemen: Education

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate she has made of the proportion of children in Yemen who have had access to full education between the ages of 6 and 14 in (a) 2016, (b) 2017, (c) 2018 and (d) to date in 2019.

Harriett Baldwin: According to the 2019 UN Humanitarian Response Plan for Yemen, 36% of school-age girls and 24% of school-age boys do not attend school. In 2018, according to the 2018 UN Humanitarian Response Plan for Yemen, 1.9 million school-age children did not attend school (25% of school-age children). In 2017, according to the 2017 UN Humanitarian Response Plan for Yemen, two million school-age children did not attend school (approximately 27% of school-age children). In 2016, according to the 2016 UN Humanitarian Response Plan for Yemen, 1.8 million school-age children did not attend school (approximately 24% of school-age children).

Yemen: Education

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support her Department is providing to increase the number of children in education in Yemen.

Harriett Baldwin: The UK is supporting education in Yemen through three global programmes: Education Cannot Wait (ECW), the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and Connecting Classrooms Through Global Learning (CCGL). The UK is one of the largest donors to ECW and GPE and the main donor to CCGL. ECW has committed $15 million to Yemen and reached over 30,000 children with services and supplies including examinations, teaching equipment, school desks, and students’ bags and supplies. GPE allocated $72.6 million in 2013, supporting school-based development, pre-school education, and improving teacher, school management, and inspector performance. Since 2015, GPE has supported Yemen to restructure the grant due to conflict. Through restructuring, the number of programme beneficiaries has been increased to reach at least 427,444 children. Since 2018, CCGL has developed 2 partnerships between UK and Yemeni schools, trained 60 teachers and 29 school leaders.

Yemen: Water

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate her Department has made of the number of people without access to safe and clean water and sanitation in Yemen.

Harriett Baldwin: According to the 2019 UN Humanitarian Response Plan for Yemen, 17.8 million Yemenis do not have access to clean water and sanitation. The UK continues to prioritise the need to improve access to safe water supplies across the country, which is vital in preventing the spread of water borne diseases such as cholera. As part of the UK’s £200 million funding in response to Yemen’s humanitarian crisis this financial year, we will provide over 1 million people with access to clean water and basic sanitation.

Yemen: Housing

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to improve shelter for children in Yemen who have lost their homes as a consequence of the ongoing war in that region.

Harriett Baldwin: In July 2018, DFID supplied tents and emergency items, such as blankets and solar lanterns, to over 2,500 families displaced by the escalation in conflict around the city of Hodeidah. In addition, DFID has funded DFID has funded the International Organization for Migration and UNHCR with £19 million since July 2017, which has included reaching over 12,000 internally-displaced children inside Yemen with humanitarian assistance.

Vaccination: Disinformation

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to tackle anti-vaccine misinformation abroad.

Harriett Baldwin: The UK is deeply concerned about the spread of anti-vaccine misinformation abroad and its potential to undermine the hard-fought gains that have been made in protecting children from vaccine preventable diseases and outbreaks. We are tackling this misinformation through our strong support of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. In both organisations, we work to ensure that they build trust and credibility with local communities as a core mandate. UK support of Gavi has contributed to the safe vaccination of over 700 million children and our support to GPEI has helped reduce global cases of Wild Polio Virus by 99%. These programmes recognise the threat anti-vaccination misinformation poses to these successes and have taken active steps to address anti-vaccination movements through immunisation outreach teams and civil society groups, the first line of defence to countering false claims and misinformation. These groups monitor anti-vaccine sentiment at local levels and provide accurate information on the health benefits of immunisation. This approach provides a deeper understanding of the causes of any concerns and the populations most at risk from negative misinformation. Both organisations also support health workers with additional training to monitor and report adverse conditions and on how speak to parents about any concerns or fears.

Department for Education

Schools: Technology

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding his Department has allocated to improving technology in school classrooms.

Nick Gibb: The Government is working on a number of initiatives to improve the use technology in school classrooms. As highlighted in the Education Technology Strategy published on 3 April, the Department has allocated £10 million to support innovation, generate evidence, and improve the use of technology in schools, colleges and universities across England. The full strategy can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/791931/DfE-Education_Technology_Strategy.pdf. As announced at Autumn budget, the Department is working with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and the National Productivity Investment Fund, to deploy full fibre internet in rural locations, starting with primary schools.

Children: Day Care

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he has taken to increase the number of available childcare places for parents working full-time.

Nadhim Zahawi: The department has taken several steps to increase the number of available childcare places for parents working full-time. These include the following: In June 2016, the department invited local authorities to apply to the Early Years Capital Fund, through which we have allocated £100 million of capital funding to help nurseries, pre-schools and playgroups to create additional places for eligible children from working families. Further, in July 2018, we announced the School Nurseries Capital Fund. This is a £30 million capital fund which aims to create new high-quality, school-based nursery places for 2, 3 and 4 year olds. The department has funded Childcare Works to provide expert support to local authorities and childcare providers about maintaining and improving sufficient childcare places in their local area. This has included national events focussing on sufficiency planning and bespoke support for local authorities to strengthen their sufficiency assessments. We have also promoted flexible childcare business models and allocated £7.7 million to 147 local authorities through our Delivery Support Fund, specifically to create additional 30 hours places.

Schools: Obesity

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to help improve the ability of schools to tackle childhood obesity.

Nadhim Zahawi: Schools have an important role to play in helping equip children with the knowledge they need to make healthy choices for themselves and creating a healthy environment for children to learn and develop a lifelong habit of physical activity. Many Department for Education policies, some of which are already being delivered, are expected to make a direct contribution to reducing the incidence of childhood obesity, such as the introduction of universal infant free school meals, the school food standards, the addition of food education in the national curriculum, and the primary physical education (PE) and sport premium. We are not complacent however, and recognise that there is more to do. The doubled primary PE and sport premium provides £320 million per year to improve the quality and access to PE and sport for primary age pupils to develop healthy habits early. We have also invested significant funding in measures to increase cycling and walking to school. Sport England supports our efforts to engage inactive children to take up sport and physical activity by investing in programmes like the School Games and Satellite Clubs. Sport England is also providing specialist training free of charge to teachers in every secondary school in England by 2020, which will help teachers better meet the needs of all children, irrespective of their level of sporting ability, and involve them in shaping the sporting opportunities that are on offer. The School Food Standards provide the legislative framework to ensure schools provide children with healthy food and drink options and we are working with Public Health England to update the School Food Standards, focusing on reducing sugar consumption. As part of the second chapter of the Childhood Obesity Plan we are investing up to £26 million in breakfast clubs. Breakfast clubs can contribute to improved attainment, attendance and overall health and ensure that more children benefit from a healthy start to their school day. We have also established a £100 million healthy pupils capital fund to facilitate an improvement in children’s physical and mental health by increasing and improving access to and use of relevant facilities, such as kitchens, dining facilities, changing rooms and sports facilities. From September 2015, Ofsted inspectors look at how provision supports pupils’ knowledge on how to keep themselves healthy, including through exercising and healthy eating and we welcome the new inspection framework which Ofsted is currently developing for September 2019. This will consider how schools build knowledge across the whole curriculum and support pupils’ personal development more broadly, including in relation to healthy behaviours.

Sex and Relationship Education

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for School Standards,of 20 March 2019, Official Report, column 1152 on the circumstances in which school leaders may disregard a parental request to withdraw a child from sex education, whether he plans to update the publication, Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education draft guidance to reflect those comments.

Nick Gibb: The draft guidance published on 25 February takes account of comments received through the public consultation and engagement with over 90 organisations, including on the right to withdraw from sex education.The Department has no plans to make changes to the guidance published in February, except to the extent that minor corrections are necessary. The Department has committed, however, to publish a supplementary guide for schools to support them in delivering the subjects; this could include further advice on the right to withdraw if that proves necessary.The regulations were debated in the House of Commons on 20 March and were overwhelmingly approved in a division. The Department expects the debate in the House of Lords to take place shortly. The Department is committed to conducting a review of the guidance three years after the new subjects become mandatory in September 2020, and every three years after that. The Department will also make changes sooner if there is a clear, pressing need.

Stem Subjects: Degrees

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps he has taken to encourage more students to study STEM degrees.

Chris Skidmore: Overall numbers of students studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are rising. The share of students studying science subjects at English Higher Education providers has increased from 41% in 2010/11 to 45% in 2016/17.Despite rising STEM student numbers, we are far from complacent and we know that employer groups continue to point to an unmet demand for higher level STEM skills. This issue seems to be particularly acute in sectors such as manufacturing, construction, engineering, science and technology. We are therefore implementing a number of initiatives across government to increase the numbers of STEM graduates. For example:The Department for Education (DfE) is piloting a conversion course scheme to enable graduates to retrain in engineering and computer science.The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy are leading a £90 million investment in 1,000 new PhD places, of which around 85% will be in STEM areas, and 40% will aim to boost collaboration between industry and academia.The government is providing funding for the new Institute of Coding, which aims to improve digital skills provision at levels 6 and 7. It will target a skills gap in digital skills and involves collaboration between education providers and industry.The DfE is also supporting (with £15 million over 3 years) the New Model in Technology & Engineering, a STEM-focused institution due to take its first full cohort of students in 2020.Institutes of Technology are being established to help meet STEM skills needs at levels 4 – 6, working closely with local employers and Local Enterprise Partnerships.Effective careers guidance and advice is also key to supporting young people to undertake learning in areas that will give them the skills employers are looking for. The government’s careers strategy sets out a long-term plan to build a world class careers system to achieve this ambition. We are increasing the information available to students to ensure they can make informed choices about what and where to study.As set out in the Industrial Strategy White Paper, the Skills Advisory Panels (SAPs) programme aims to ensure that the local provision of skills, and the delivery of skills policy in local areas, meets and responds to changing employer needs. SAPs analysis will inform Local Industrial Strategies and local post-16 skills provision, so that skills provision better meets labour market needs.Degree apprenticeships also allow universities to build partnerships with businesses and employers and to work together to create a skilled workforce. Employers are working in partnership with universities and professional bodies to meet the high-level technical skills that employers and our economy need to prosper.

Overseas Students: Universities

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on ensuring that the UK continues to attract international students to British universities after the UK leaves the EU.

Chris Skidmore: Ministers within the Department for Education have regular discussions with the Home Office on ways to ensure the UK remains an attractive study destination, and the UK already has a strong offer for overseas students who graduate in the UK. International graduates can remain in the UK to work following their studies by switching to several existing visa routes, including Tier 2 (skilled worker) visas.As you will be aware, the Immigration White Paper, published in December 2018, proposes increasing the post-study leave period for international students following completion of studies to 12 months for those completing a PhD, and to 6 months for all full-time postgraduate and undergraduate students at institutions with degree awarding powers. These proposals go beyond recommendations set out in the Migration Advisory Committee’s report and will benefit tens of thousands of international students. During the Home Office’s 12-month engagement programme on the Immigration White Paper, business and stakeholders from a wide range of sectors, including the Higher Education sector, will be able to feed in their views on white paper proposals.In addition, the International Education Strategy, published on 16 March 2019, sets out actions to continue to provide a welcoming environment for international students, and includes our ambition to increase the number of international students we host to 600,000 by 2030. One of the actions within the strategy includes considering where processes could be improved to improve the visa experience for international students.

Universities: Staff

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of  the level of (a) female and (b) BAME representation in top university positions.

Chris Skidmore: Diversity and equality in higher education is a priority for this government. Higher education institutions are independent bodies and responsible for decisions about who they employ. Like every employer they must ensure they meet their obligations under the Equality Act 2010.Important progress has been made on the number of women in leadership roles in higher education, particularly in the increase in the proportion of female Chairs of Governing Bodies and female Vice-Chancellors. Sector-led gender initiatives, such as the Athena SWAN Charter and the Aurora development scheme, demonstrate the importance the sector attaches to tackling the barriers that hinder women’s progression in higher education careers.On 1 February, the government announced measures to tackle ethnic disparities in higher education including encouraging higher education providers to make use of tools such as the Race at Work Charter and the Race Equality Charter to drive forward a step-change in the recruitment and progression of ethnic minority employees.The government has also consulted on ethnicity pay reporting in order to inform future government policy.

Education: Males

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress has been made in improving the education outcomes of white, working-class boys.

Nadhim Zahawi: This government is committed to delivering a high-performing education system in which all pupils, regardless of their background, ethnicity or gender, have the opportunity to go as far as their hard work will take them. We know that the proportion of children in good or outstanding schools rose from 66% in 2010 to 85% by the end of December 2018, in part due to our reforms – and that the gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged pupils, measured by the department’s attainment gap index, has narrowed by 13.2% at the end of key stage 2 and 9.5% at the end of key stage 4 since 2011. But we also know that the average attainment of white boys – and also girls – who are eligible for free school meals remains unacceptably low. Addressing the educational effects of disadvantage is a priority for the department. We are continuing to provide pupil premium funding – worth more than £2.4 billion in 2018-19 – to help schools improve the progress, attainment and other outcomes of their disadvantaged pupils. White working class boys and girls form the largest group of eligible pupils and so benefit significantly from this extra support. Our recently introduced national funding formula for schools also takes account of socio-economic disadvantage – and low prior attainment – in allocating funding to schools. We have also invested over £137 million in the Education Endowment Foundation, to identify what works to improve disadvantaged pupils’ outcomes and to make this evidence readily available to schools, colleges and early years providers. We are targeting extra support at some of the poorest areas of the country to raise standards in schools, through our £72 million Opportunity Areas and £24 million Opportunity North East programmes. We are also working to make sure that more disadvantaged young people can benefit from higher education. In our latest guidance, published in February of this year, we have asked the Office for Students to continue in its efforts to secure greater and faster progress in ensuring that students from disadvantaged and under-represented groups – including students from white working class backgrounds – can not only access but also successfully participate in higher education.

Apprentices: Ethnic Groups

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department are taking to encourage the uptake of apprenticeships amongst ethnic minorities.

Anne Milton: We have set an ambitious target to increase the proportion of apprenticeships started by people of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds by 20% by 2020 (up from a baseline average of 10% in the 2010-15 Parliament to 11.9% by 2020). 11.2% (42,200) of total starts in 2017/18 were by people of BAME backgrounds. This is the highest proportion reported over the past 8 years. The Five Cities Project, launched in February 2018, is promoting the take up of apprenticeships by BAME individuals in Greater Manchester, London, Bristol, Birmingham and Leicester. Many partners are supporting this drive, including large employers such as B&Q, Rolls Royce, and Optimity, local authorities, Local Enterprise Partnerships, apprenticeship providers, schools, and community groups. Our Apprenticeships Diversity Champions Network (ADCN) has grown to over 70 members since its launch in 2017. It aims to influence the behaviour of other employers to support more people from underrepresented groups, including members of BAME communities, to start apprenticeships. Bristol City Council, an ADCN member, has launched a programme named 'Stepping up', which is providing a route for employees from BAME backgrounds into leadership positions through apprenticeships. Our new marketing campaign, ‘Fire it Up’, launched in January 2019 and set out to change the way people think about apprenticeships, demonstrating that they are a prestigious option, accessible to people from all backgrounds. ‘Fire it Up’ advertising features clear representation of apprentices from a diverse range of backgrounds, and showcases apprentices from BAME backgrounds in high-status, professional roles.

Apprentices: Disability

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to encourage the uptake of apprenticeships among people with (a) disabilities and (b) learning difficulties.

Anne Milton: The government wants to make sure that the benefits of an apprenticeship are available to all, including people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities (LDD). We are developing new communications and guidance products to demonstrate to people with LDD that apprenticeships are an option for them, and to support employers to employ apprentices with LDD. We have integrated the Department for Work and Pension’s Disability Confident campaign into the apprenticeship recruitment service so that the Disability Confident logo is displayed on apprenticeship vacancies for campaign-registered employers. We are working with local partners through our pacesetter project to test policy approaches and deliver tangible progress towards growing numbers of LDD apprentices. Pacesetters include councils, a school, and the learning disability charity Mencap. Our Apprenticeships Diversity Champions Network has grown to over 70 members since its launch in 2017. Many members have set aspirational targets for the number of LDD apprentices in their own workforce, and introduced initiatives designed to increase participation: for example, Walsall Council have extended their Positive Action Scheme to include those with special educational needs and disabilities. Our funding system, which provides additional support to training providers, is intended to encourage the successful take-up and achievement of apprenticeships by those with LDD. We continue to monitor the impact of these measures to ensure they support the achievement of our targets. We are making progress against our measure of success for a 20% increase in the proportion of starts by people with LDD by 2020 (from a baseline of 9.9% in 2015/16 to 11.9% by 2020). In 2017/18, apprentices from this group made up 11.2% (42,200) of total starts.

Vocational Education

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to (a) improve, (b) promote and (c) expand technical and vocational education and training.

Anne Milton: Our long term reforms will create a world-class technical and vocational education system, offering a real choice of high quality training.We have put quality at the heart of apprenticeships. Old style apprenticeships known as ‘frameworks’ are being replaced, giving way to new high quality employer-designed ‘standards’. From the start of the 2020/21 academic year, all new apprenticeship starts will be on standards. These changes are making sure that today’s apprenticeships reflect what business wants and needs. We are already seeing strong take up of standards, accounting for nearly 60% of starts in the first half the 2018/19 academic year. Our new apprenticeships campaign, ‘Fire It Up’, aims to change the way people think about apprenticeships by showing them as an aspirational choice for those with energy and passion and encouraging everyone to consider them.T levels, alongside apprenticeships, will raise the prestige of technical education and provide students with a high-quality, technical alternative to A levels. With longer teaching hours and a meaningful industry placement, T levels will be excellent preparation for skilled work or higher level technical training. We are working closely with the providers selected for first delivery of T levels in 2020, to ensure that T levels are high quality courses from the very start. A communications campaign will launch later this year to raise awareness of T levels, where they can lead, and how they fit in with other post-16 choices.Alongside the introduction of T levels, we are reviewing post-16 qualifications at level 3 and below, excluding A levels and GCSEs. The aim is to simplify the qualifications landscape so all qualifications are necessary, have a clear purpose, are high quality and have clear links to further study or employment. The first stage of the review, launched on 19 March, asks for views on defining these principles further. We are also reviewing how higher technical education (at levels 4 and 5) can better address the needs of students and employers. This includes ensuring that there is widespread clarity and confidence that qualifications at this level deliver the skills employers need.We have also made £170 million funding available through our competition to establish Institutes of Technology (IoTs) across England. IoTs will be a new kind of prestigious and high quality institution, drawing on the strengths of FE colleges, universities and leading employers to deliver higher level technical training tailored to the specific skills needs of local areas. We will announce the outcome of the competition shortly and expect the first IoTs to open in the 2019/20 academic year.

Schools: Opening Hours

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of state schools in England that regularly end the school day early on a Friday (a) since June 2017, (b) in the last 12 months and (c) since 1 January 2019.

Nick Gibb: The information requested is not held centrally.Schools have the autonomy to decide the structure and duration of their school day, including deciding what time their school day should start and finish.The structure of the school week should not be the cause of inconvenience to parents and carers, and it is unacceptable for schools to shorten their school week unless it is a direct action to support and enhance their pupils’ education.

Ministry of Justice

Reoffenders: Community Orders

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many offenders re-offended whilst being the subject of a community order in the last 12 months for which information is available.

Rory Stewart: We do not hold reoffending rates based on whether offenders are the subject of a community order but instead hold data based on those who have started a community order in a given period. As such, we cannot tell whether an offender is still subject to a community order at the time of their reoffence. Please see the available data in the table provided.There is persuasive evidence showing community sentences, in certain circumstances, are more effective than short custodial sentences in reducing reoffending. The MoJ study ‘The impact of short custodial sentences, community orders and suspended sentence orders on re-offending’ published in 2015 involved around 350,000 sentencing occasions over 4 years and used 130 different variables to construct matched groups of offenders and examine the effect of short sentences relative to community sentences. This study found a reduction of around 3 percentage points in proven reoffences if offenders receiving sentences of less than 12 months were to get a community order instead. This is statistically significant and equates to around 30,000 proven reoffences in total over a one-year period. This means fewer victims of crime.Unless we tackle the underlying causes of offending, we cannot protect the public from being victims of crime. Effective community orders can address offenders’ behaviour, answer their mental health and alcohol or drug misuse needs, and provide reparation for the benefit of the wider community.



Table
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Courts: Reform

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much is projected to be spent from the public purse on the courts reform programme in each financial year between April 2019 and 2025.

Lucy Frazer: Between April 2019 and 2025 the HM Courts and Tribunals service is projecting to spend £610m on the Reform. Broken down by year this would equate to: YearImplementation Costs2019/20£219m2020/21£167m2021/22£96m2022/23£55m2023/24£48m2024/25£25m The ambitious Reform programme, developed in partnership with the Judiciary is bringing new technology and modern ways of working to the justice system. New digital services are already making a difference, with 150,000 people using online justice systems in 2018. Public feedback is positive with 85% of people reporting they are happy with the new divorce service, 93% for probate and 89% for civil money claims. Spending is continually monitored to ensure the £1bn budget it met.

Witnesses: Video Recordings

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps are being taken to ensure that those with (a) limited digital capability or (b) disabilities are not negatively affected by the increased use of video court hearings.

Lucy Frazer: The use of video-links in the court system is well-established and, in circumstances where the use of a video link (or, in the future, a fully video hearing) might negatively impact those with limited digital capability or disabilities, the judge will always consider individual needs and has the discretion to direct that the individual can appear in person. HMCTS continue to carefully develop and test fully video hearings and have put in place appropriate arrangements and safeguards to ensure that the service is inclusive, and that those with limited digital capability or disabilities are not negatively impacted. This includes ensuring the Fully Video Hearings service will be compatible with assistive technology, conducting user research including users with low digital skills, providing access to trained support staff, and capturing information on participants’ needs to inform judicial decision-making on whether a video hearing is suitable.

Offenders: Electronic Tagging

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, , pursuant to the Answer of 28 March 2019 to Question 234706 on Offenders: Electronic Tagging, if he will place in the Library a copy of the outcome report on his Department’s GPS pilot scheme.

Rory Stewart: On 16 February the Secretary of State for Justice announced the national roll out of new GPS tags providing 24/7 location monitoring of offenders and subjects on Court bail. The process evaluation of the Ministry of Justice GPS pilot was published at the same time. It can be accessed online, at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/process-evaluation-of-the-global-positioning-system-gps-electronic-monitoring-pilot

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Housing Ombudsman Service

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 28 March 2019 to Question 234648 on the finding that the average time taken in 2018-19 to determine cases entering the Housing Ombudsman Service’s formal remit is expected to be less than seven months as of the end of March 2019, for what reason the Housing Ombudsman Service is advising people referring complaints to it that there is an eight to ten months wait for a determination on those complaints to be made.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The Housing Ombudsman Service started the year with an average case determination time of 8 months and has used this as an indicator to customers throughout the year. On 4 April 2019, The Housing Ombudsman advised all staff of performance for 2018-19 and advised an update to their advice to customers, that determinations will take between 6 and 8 months. The Ombudsman's advice is that the expected timescales - using a range as the average - will not be experienced by all customers.This will vary dependent on the level of complexity of cases entering the Housing Ombudsman Service’s formal remit.

Housing Ombudsman Service

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 28 March 2019 to Question 234648 on Housing Ombudsman Service, for what reasons there has been a 24 per cent increase in cases entering the Housing Ombudsman Service’s formal remit for determination in 2018-19.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The increase in cases entering the Housing Ombudsman’s formal remit is likely to reflect the increase in the volume of residents exiting landlords’ complaints procedures and still seeking resolution. We cannot comment with certainty on the reasons for the increase as the explanation will be the aggregate of individual factors across social landlords. Responsive repairs has continued to be the largest category of complaint received at 37 per cent of the overall number in 2017-18.

Housing Ombudsman Service

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 28 March 2019 to Question 234648 on Housing Ombudsman Service, which stakeholders the Housing Ombudsman Service is required to consult with on the proposals within its draft Corporate Plan 2019-22 and draft Business Plan 2019-20; and which organisations have responded to those consultations.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: Under the Framework Document agreed between the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Housing Ombudsman, the Housing Ombudsman will consult with residents and members of the Scheme on the draft business plan each year. The Housing Ombudsman received 74 responses from individual landlord organisations, residents and resident organisations and other stakeholders. A list of respondents will be published together with the Business plan 2019-20 and Corporate plan 2019-22 once they have been agreed.

Housing Ombudsman Service

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 28 March 2019 to Question 234648 on Housing Ombudsman Service, if he will instruct the Housing Ombudsman Service to set its subscription fee at the level required to deliver the resources to reduce the average waiting time for determination of a complaint to four months.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The proposed fee for the next year was set out in the Housing Ombudsman’s draft Business Plan 2019/20 for consultation. Together with the Corporate plan 2019-22, it sets out a series of strategic priorities and measures of success for the coming year and includes its plans for subscription levels. The final level remains subject to Secretary of State approval.

Housing Ombudsman Service

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 28 March 2019 to Question 234648 on Housing Ombudsman Service, how many complaints the Housing Ombudsman Service received against (a) A2Dominion, (b) Clarion Housing Group, (c) London & Quadrant, (d) Notting Hill Genesis, (e) One Housing Group, (f) Peabody and (g) Southern Housing Group in 2018-19; and how many of those complaints were upheld.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: Between 1 April 2018 and 31 March 2019, the Housing Ombudsman received 1,452 complaints about (a) A2Dominion, (b) Clarion Housing Group, (c) London & Quadrant, (d) Notting Hill Genesis, (e) One Housing Group, (f) Peabody and (g) Southern Housing Group. The breakdown was as follows: Landlord name CountA2Dominion  Housing Group Limited121Clarion Housing Group Limited430London & Quadrant  Housing Trust261Notting Hill Genesis287One Housing Group Limited62Peabody Trust216Southern Housing Group Limited75 Total 1,452 A breakdown of the 377 complaints determined by the Housing Ombudsman between 1 April 2018 and 31 March 2019 for (a) A2Dominion, (b) Clarion Housing Group, (c) London & Quadrant, (d) Notting Hill Genesis, (e) One Housing Group, (f) Peabody and (g) Southern  Housing Group is below. Of these, a total of 171 cases were upheld by  the Housing Ombudsman.  Landlord name Upheld Not upheld Total DeterminedA2Dominion Housing Group Limited162036Clarion Housing Group Limited453782London & Quadrant Housing Trust334073Notting Hill Genesis293968One  Housing Group Limited191837Peabody  Trust234366Southern Housing Group  Limited6915 Total 171 206 377

National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 12 March 2019 to Question 227957 on National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service, whether the estimated running costs include the full cost of security.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: Yes.

National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2019 to Question 229625 on National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service, who made the assessment of the almost 50 sites against the published criteria; and what expertise external to the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation was used.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The assessment was carried out by members of the Foundation assisted by property experts CBRE.

National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2019 to Question 229625, whether the criteria for the site of the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre were altered after the almost 50 sites were deemed not to meet the criteria.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The objective throughout has been to build a striking new national memorial co-located with a world class learning centre.

National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2019 to Question 229625 on National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service, which of the published criteria for the UK Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre the proposed site in Victoria Tower Gardens was deemed by the Foundation (a) to meet and (b) not to meet.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation recommended Victoria Tower Gardens for the reasons set out in the my answer of 18 December 2018 to the Hon Member in Question UIN 203298.

National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2019 to Question 229626 on National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service, what investigations the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation conducted into the feasibility of Victoria Tower Gardens as the site for the proposed Memorial; what aspects of the site were covered in that investigation; and if he will place in the Library the papers which the investigation generated.

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2019 to Question 229626 on National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service, what outside expertise the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation drew on in its investigation of the feasibility of Victoria Tower Gardens as the site for the proposed Memorial; and how much it spent on consultants for that purpose.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The Foundation tested the feasibility of the site by speaking to a number of key stakeholders, including The Royal Parks, DCMS and Westminster City Council. No technical obstacles were uncovered that would prevent the Memorial and below ground Learning Centre being built in Victoria Tower Gardens during this process.

National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2019 to Question 229629 on National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service, whether the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation’s recommendation in January 2016 was that both the Memorial and the Learning Centre should be in Victoria Tower Gardens.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The Foundation’s advice has consistently been that the Memorial and Learning Centre should be co-located. Information obtained through the design competition allowed Ministers to conclude that co-location would be feasible and they announced on 24 October 2017 their decision to proceed with an integrated design.

National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2019 to Question 229631, what the information requested in the design brief was which supported the assessment that the Holocaust Learning Centre should be integrated with the Memorial in Victoria Tower Gardens.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: All the information considered is contained in the design brief published on 14 September 2016.

National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2019 to Question 229630, if he will place in the Library the technical assessment that supported the conclusion that the Learning Centre could be accommodated successfully in Victoria Tower Gardens.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The technical assessments are publicly available as part of the planning application submitted to Westminster City Council.

United Kingdom Holocaust Memorial Foundation: Staff

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2019 to Question 229099, how many civil servants at each grade are providing support to the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: One civil servant at Grade 6 level provides most support to the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation, with other staff at a range of grades also assisting as required.

United Kingdom Holocaust Memorial Foundation: Staff

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many staff the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation has by each grade.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: One civil servant at Grade 6 level provides most support to the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation, with other staff at a range of grades also assisting as required.

Homes England

James Cartlidge: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will state the total funds received by the Homes England from redemption of equity loans in each year since 2015 for which figures are available.

Kit Malthouse: Capital receipts from the repayment of equity loans for each year from 2015/16 is as follows:YearHelp to BuyOther Legacy Home Equity SchemesTotal Proceeds17/18£490,177£79,661£569,83816/17£262,438£81,984£344,44215/16£101,663£82,600£184,263

Homes England

James Cartlidge: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the total estimated net present value was of all outstanding equity loan advances in UK residential property held by the Homes England on the latest date for which information is available.

Kit Malthouse: The fair value of equity loans held by Homes England at 31 March 2018 is as follows:Help to Buy£8,134,304Other Legacy Home Equity Schemes£334,939Total£8,649,243

Owner Occupation

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of home ownership for under-45 year-olds since 2010.

Kit Malthouse: The proportion of under 45-year-olds owning their own home was 50 per cent in 2010-11. This fell to 42 per cent in 2016-17 and has increased to 45 per cent in 2017-18.Supported by government schemes including Help to Buy and Right to Buy, the number of first-time buyers rose to over 370,000 in 2018, which is an 86 per cent increase since 2010.

Housing: Construction

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Government has a policy is on the coalescence of villages and towns through house building on green wedges between settlements.

Kit Malthouse: The Government's expectations are set out in the National Planning Policy Framework. This asks local authorities to optimise density in the development of towns, and to recognise the character and beauty of the countryside. Plans should focus development on sustainable locations. The Framework also makes clear that, in rural areas, housing should be located where it will enhance or maintain the vitality of rural communities.It is for local authorities to use their plans to determine the extent of settlements, and say where essential development should go, and where restraint, such as Green Belt, is needed. One of the purposes of Green Belt is to prevent neighbouring towns merging into one another. In Green Belt, most types of new housing are to be treated as inappropriate development, and refused planning permission except in very special circumstances.

Homelessness: Veterans

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of veterans who are homeless in (a) the UK, (b) the North West and (c) St Helens borough.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: MHCLG does not collect this information.We have put in place a new statutory duty under the Homelessness Reduction Act, requiring the Secretary of State for Defence to refer members of the armed forces to local authority housing services, where local authorities will develop a personalised housing plan, tailored to their needs, to prevent them from becoming homelessness. Where veterans are homeless and vulnerable as a result of having served in the armed forces, local authorities have a duty to house them.Further, we have worked with the Ministry of Defence to ensure that the additional £1 million MHCLG has made available specifically for veterans is most effectively positioned to help them in the best way possible. It could go towards the funding of new specialist staff, or training of existing staff to provide veterans with the bespoke support they need as they navigate civilian life. It may also be used to create new pathways to existing specialist support services on offer, ranging from assistance to access supported housing to mental health and PTSD provision.This Government is committed to reducing homelessness and rough sleeping. No one should ever have to sleep rough. That is why last summer we published the cross-government Rough Sleeping Strategy which sets out an ambitious £100 million package to help people who sleep rough now, but also puts in place the structures that will end rough sleeping once and for all. Already, the Rough Sleeping Initiative has provided over 2,600 additional bed spaces and 750 more support staff. In all, the Government has now committed over £1.2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over the spending review period.

Recreation Spaces

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to (a) support the provision of new parks and green spaces and (b) maintain existing parks and green spaces.

Rishi Sunak: In 2019, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government has:Allocated £9.7 million across all local authorities in England to help the sector maintain, protect and increase recreational spaces through the Parks Programme;Awarded £3.75 million of Pocket Parks Plus funding to 198 community-led projects across England to create new or renovate existing parksContributed £1.2 million to the National Trust and Heritage Lottery Fund’s Future Parks Accelerator programme, which is supporting local authorities to pilot innovative approaches to ensuring the longer-term sustainability of parks;Provided £130k to create a webspace for community groups engaged in the stewardship of parks and develop a national network of community green champions;Funded £20k to improve skills for parks professionals;Invested £210k to capture and disseminate learning from Newcastle City Council’s journey to transfer their parks and allotments to a new Parks Trust.The Government recognises the value of parks and green spaces in providing vibrant and inclusive locations for communities to socialise, volunteer, work, and exercise. Access to green spaces fosters health, well-being, integration, and social engagement. Government will continue to work with the Parks Sector to help support the sustainability of parks and green spaces.

Retail Trade: Urban Areas

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of (a) out of town shopping centres and (b) online shopping on the health of town centres and high streets.

Jake Berry: The revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) reaffirms our commitment to the town centre first approach, to maintain footfall and avoid undermining their vitality. This makes it clear that in the first instance main town centre uses, such as retail, leisure and office should be located in town centres.Between February 2009 and February 2019, the share of online retailing as a percentage of all retail sales increased from 5.9 per cent to 17.6 per cent. However, 82.4 per cent of retail is still generated from physical retail.We recognise that changing consumer behaviour presents a significant challenge for retailers in our town centres. That is why we set out ‘Our Plan for the High Street’ at Autumn budget, to support the sustainable transformation of high streets. This includes a £675 million Future High Streets Fund to support local areas in England to invest in town centre infrastructure, a High Streets Task Force to give high streets and town centres expert advice to adapt and thrive, and measures on business rates and planning.

Travellers: Equality

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the implications for departmental policies of the conclusions and recommendations of the Women and Equalities Committee report Tackling inequalities faced by Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities published on 5 April 2019.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: We acknowledge the recommendations of the Committee and will publish our response to the report in due course.

Coalfields Regeneration Trust: Finance

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much funding his Department allocated to the Coalfields Regeneration Trust in (a) 2016, (b) 2017 and (c) 2018.

Jake Berry: This Department has not provided the Coalfields Regeneration Trust (CRT) with any direct funding since 2015. Our investment in the CRT from 2010 to 2015 was designed to assist the organisation to become self-sustaining, supporting them to respond to needs and opportunities in coalfield communities.

Temporary Accommodation

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the 2019 edition of the UK Housing Review, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the number of (a) homeless families living in temporary accommodation and (b) short-term lets.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The number of a) homeless families living in temporary accommodation in April-June 2018 was 61,480 of which 55,480 were in self-contained accommodation. Information is not collected on b) short term lets. Figures showing trends back to 2002 are shown in the Temporary accommodation tables available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-homelessness.

Ministry of Defence

Dounreay

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the oral contribution of the Secretary of State for Defence on 6 March 2014, Official Report column 1085, corrected on 11 March 2014, whether there had been a measurable change in the radiation discharge other than the alpha-emitting particulate discharge.

Stuart Andrew: There was no measurable change in the alpha emitting particulate discharge from the Naval Reactor Test Establishment (NRTE). There was a measurable increase in the already very low levels of radioactive noble gases discharged; however, all discharges remained well below the levels authorised by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency. The Shore Test Facility reactor at the NRTE ceased operations in July 2015.

Dounreay

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many nuclear safety incidents were recorded in each of the last ten years of operation of the naval reactor test establishment at Dounreay.

Stuart Andrew: In each of the last ten years of operation (from 2006 to 2015), no nuclear safety incidents have been recorded at the nuclear reactor test establishment at Dounreay.The Ministry of Defence is using the definition of an "incident" as that meeting Level 1 of the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INRS). The International Atomic Energy Agency established the INRS as an international standard to define the severity of nuclear accidents.

Armed Forces: Recruitment

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many recruitment applications to the Armed Forces were declined on medical grounds in each of the last five years.

Mark Lancaster: This information is taking some time to compile, and I will write to the hon. Member when the information is available.

Veterans: Advisory Services

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what support he is providing to the Veterans’ Gateway to support the ex-forces community.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is wholly supportive of the Veterans' Gateway, which provides a one-stop service to better support the veterans' community and help in accessing public, private and charitable services in the UK through a free 24/7 telephone number and dedicated website.A £2 million grant from the MOD's Covenant Fund was awarded to the Consortium, which is led by the Royal British Legion, to fund the set up and running costs for the first two years. The MOD has subsequently provided an additional £250,000 to fund core Veterans' Gateway activities, and a further £108,000 to enable a six-month outreach trial.

Ballistic Missile Defence

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to modernise the UK’s missile defence capability; and if he will make a statement.

Stuart Andrew: Further to the commitments in Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, and subsequently endorsed by the Modernising Defence Programme, the UK is investing in a ground-based radar, which will enhance NATO's Ballistic Missile Defence system. We are also investigating further the potential of the Type 45 Destroyers to operate in a Ballistic Missile Defence role. We will continue to support research and development initiatives and multinational engagement through the UK's Missile Defence Centre.

Electronic Warfare

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to develop the UK’s offensive cyber capabilities.

Stuart Andrew: The Ministry of Defence works in partnership with the Government Communications Headquarters to deliver the National Offensive Cyber Programme which harnesses the expertise of both organisations to establish a world-class offensive cyber capability delivered through a "Joint Mission" construct.Defence is committed to exploiting offensive cyber (OC) as a warfighting tool. In doing so, we are developing and employing capabilities through the National Offensive Cyber Programme, and ensuring OC is fully integrated with military full-spectrum operations.

Rosyth Dockyard: Nuclear Submarines

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many nuclear safety incidents were recorded at Rosyth in each of the last 20 years.

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many nuclear safety incidents were recorded at Devonport in each of the last 20 years.

Stuart Andrew: The information requested will take time to collate and I will write to the hon. Member when this has been completed.

GPT Special Project Management

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has received a request from the (a) Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and (b) Attorney General's Office for documents as part of the SFO's investigation into GPT Special Project Management.

Gavin Williamson: It would not be appropriate for me to comment on a live criminal investigation.

Type 31 Frigates: Procurement

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the procurement of Type 31e frigates, what weighting his Department has put on firms bidding for contracts that will sourcing (a) products and (b) materials from the UK supply chain; and if he will make a statement.

Stuart Andrew: Supply chain development is an important consideration in evaluating bidders' proposals in the Type 31e competition. Bidders are incentivised to demonstrate how they intend to strengthen the UK supply chain through increased security of supply, supply chain capability development and the mitigation of supply chain vulnerabilities. I cannot discuss specific criteria or their weighting at this time as to do so would be prejudicial to the commercial interests of the Ministry of Defence.

Royal Fleet Auxiliary: Shipping

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether bidders participating in the procurement process for fleet support ships are required to provide (a) carrier strike group 22, (b) carrier strike and (c) carrier-enabled power projection capabilities; and if he will make a statement.

Stuart Andrew: The Fleet Solid Support ships will not directly provide a carrier strike or carrier-enabled power projection capability but will facilitate these through the delivery of food, stores and ordnance to the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers. Bidders for the main design and build contract are not required to provide any specific carrier strike capability.All sensitive equipment that would be used in the support of carrier strike operations will be subject to a separate UK-only competition after main contract award.The term Carrier Strike Group 22 is not recognised.

Bosnia and Herzegovina: EU Defence Policy

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on Operation Althea of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Mark Lancaster: At the Western Balkans Summit in London in July 2018, the Prime Minister was firm in the UK's commitment to supporting stability and security in the Western Balkans.Since its inception in 2004, the UK has been one of the strongest supporters of Operation Althea in Bosnia and Herzegovina; in supporting its executive mandate at the UN and consistently providing personnel deployments. We intend to maintain a UK contribution to the Operation in the event of a deal and an implementation period.In the event of a no-deal Brexit, a third country agreement would be required between the UK and EU for UK troops to continue as part of EU missions and operations, including Operation Althea. We have made clear to the EU that we are open to reaching such an agreement to ensure continuity of the UK's contribution. In case of no-deal, we have put in place contingency plans to continue UK support to the Western Balkans region.The UK's other defence commitments in the Western Balkans, including our support to NATO's Kosovo Force (KFOR), will not be affected by any EU Exit scenario.

Bosnia and Herzegovina: EU Defence Policy

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment has he made of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU without a deal on the Berlin plus arrangements under Operation Althea.

Mark Lancaster: Operation Althea is and will remain an important contributor to the Safe and Secure Environment that is essential for the security and stability of Bosnia-Herzegovina.Under the 'Berlin Plus' arrangements, the EU's Operation Althea has access to NATO assets and capabilities. Berlin Plus arrangements are not affected by Brexit.In the event of a no-deal Brexit, the UK would not be able to continue to contribute to Operation Althea without a third country agreement between the EU and the UK. Therefore, all UK personnel deployed to the EU operation would withdraw. We have made clear to the EU that we are open to reaching an agreement to ensure continuity of the UK's contribution to the Operation.The UK fully supports the objectives of Operation Althea, its continuing UN Chapter VII mandate, and the Berlin Plus arrangements from which it benefits. We will continue to do so as we leave the EU, and we intend to maintain a UK contribution to the Operation in the event of a deal and an implementation period.

Department for Work and Pensions

State Retirement Pensions: British Nationals Abroad

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to her Department's document Estimated costs of uprating State Pension in frozen rate countries, recipients of the UK State Pension living overseas, if she will hold discussions with her counterparts in (a) Australia, (b) Canada, (c) New Zealand and (d) other countries about the potential benefits of a reciprocal agreement including the uprating of the pensions of their UK residents; and if she will make a statement.

Guy Opperman: The Department’s document ‘Estimated costs of uprating State Pension in frozen rate countries’ https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/estimated-costs-of-uprating-state-pension-in-frozen-rate-countries shows that the estimated extra cost of up-rating the UK State Pension in countries where State Pension increases are not paid would be around £3 billion extra over five years, if all State Pensions in payment were increased to the amount that would have been payable if the recipients had never left the UK. The policy on the up-rating of UK State Pensions paid to recipients living outside the UK is clear and is a long-standing one of successive Governments since WW2. The annual index-linked increases are paid to UK State Pension recipients where there is a legal requirement to do so. For example, where UK State Pension recipients are living within the European Economic Area, Switzerland and Gibraltar or in countries where there is a reciprocal agreement in place that provides for the uprating of the UK State Pension. The Government has no plans to change this policy.

Universal Credit

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing universal credit claims to be backdated to the starting point of each claim being made rather than the point at which a submit button is pressed on the claim.

Alok Sharma: Claimants make a claim at the point of need, not before or after. Therefore, the date of claim for an online application to Universal Credit is the date the claimant submits the claim. As such, there is limited provision for backdating claims within Universal Credit. The newly launched Help to Claim offers tailored, practical support to help people make a Universal Credit claim and receive their first full payment on time. Claims may be backdated, by up to one calendar month, in limited circumstances for vulnerable claimants who may be delayed in claiming Universal Credit through no fault of their own. Claims may also be backdated in specific circumstances when a couple separates to ensure that there is no gap in entitlement between the couple claim and the new claim made by a single claimant. In cases where the Department have had direct contact with a claimant and have assisted them in making their applications, either by telephone, face to face contact or a home visit, the date of claim will be the date of first contact.

Employment: Autism

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will take steps to collect and publish data on the employment status of adults diagnosed with autism.

Justin Tomlinson: Department for Work and Pensions officials are considering how to robustly measure the employment rate among autistic people, including whether it might be possible to collect this information through the Labour Force Survey.

Children: Maintenance

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many liability orders have been obtained by the Child Maintenance Service to utilise their enforcement powers on the Collect and Pay scheme since they were introduced in (a) the UK (b) Scotland and (c) Linlithgow and East Falkirk constituency.

Will Quince: The Department does not hold information relating to liability orders obtained by the Child Maintenance Service in Northern Ireland and cannot therefore answer your question accurately for the UK.Information on the number of liability orders obtained by the Child Maintenance Service in Scotland and the Linlithgow and East Falkirk constituency is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.You may be interested in our routinely published data on the Enforcement Actions taken by the Child Maintenance Service in Great Britain. This includes the number of Liability Orders (Table 11 Enforcement Actions). These statistics are published online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-on-the-2012-statutory-child-maintenance-scheme

Working Links

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 1 April 2019 on Working Links, if he will commission a public inquiry into the financial risk to sub-contractors undertaking work for her Department following the (a) collapse of Working Links and (b) difficulties Community and Voluntary Organisations are experiencing obtaining contractual payments

Will Quince: The DWP will not be undertaking a public enquiry into the failure of Working Links or the issues that this has caused to their supply chain partners. Ultimately, the failure of Working Links was caused by its subsidiary companies and their Community Rehabilitation Contracts. The DWP’s commercial Employment Category will seek to learn lessons and consider them when developing future commercial strategies.

National Insurance Credits

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the publication, National Insurance Contributions Series CA 12 - Training for further employment and your National Insurance record, whether credits for approved training could have been used towards the second contribution condition for incapacity benefit.

Justin Tomlinson: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 3 April 2019 to Question UIN 237041https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-questions-answers/?page=1&max=20&questiontype=AllQuestions&house=commons%2clords&use-dates=True&answered-from=2019-03-01&answered-to=2019-04-08&uin=237041

Employment and Support Allowance

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether a claimant of employment support allowance that received a health assessment report audited by her Department is entitled to the (a) original and (b) audited report.

Justin Tomlinson: If a claimant requests a copy of their assessment report they are entitled to receive it. Where an assessment report has been reviewed or reworked by DWP the claimant will receive copies of both the original and audited versions. Please note, the audited version of an assessment report is different from the Auditor's Report produced by the Department about the Assessment Provider. Claimants are not entitled to see Auditor's Reports.

Children: Maintenance

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what financial assessment she has made of the effect of writing off child maintenance arrears on (a) her Department's budget and (b) families who are entitled to claim child maintenance; and how much money has been transferred from the legacy system and is in the process of being written off.

Will Quince: In December 2017 we published a public consultation document detailing the financial assessment of writing off child maintenance arrears owed to Government and arrears owed to parents. The consultation can be found through the following link:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/667033/child-maintenance-compliance-arrears-consultation.pdfNew statistics will be published in June 2019 which will include arrears transferred from the legacy system or in the process of being written off. Information on the planned changes to the Child Support Agency Quarterly Statistical Summary to incorporate this information can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/child-support-agency-statistics-publication-strategy

Children: Maintenance

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of families affected by her Department's decision to write off child maintenance arrears of (a) £65.01 and £500, and (b) more than £500, and if she will make a statement.

Will Quince: In the “Child Maintenance: A New Compliance and Arrears Strategy” document which was published in December 2017, estimates were made regarding the number of parents who would be affected. There were estimated to be approximately 360,000 cases where parents would not be offered the opportunity to make representation (below £500 and less than 10 years old or below £1000 and over 10 years old) and approximately 475,000 cases where they would (over £500 and less than 10 years old or over £1000 and over 10 years old). This can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/child-maintenance-a-new-compliance-and-arrears-strategy. Information for how many parents have currently had their arrears written off is not readily available and has not previously been published as official statistics, however we expect these new statistics to be published in June 2019. Information on the planned changes to the Child Support Agency Quarterly Statistical Summary to incorporate this information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/child-support-agency-statistics-publication-strategy.

Universal Credit: Croydon

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she had made of the effect of the roll out of universal credit on levels of homelessness in the London borough of Croydon .

Will Quince: We do not track homelessness at Jobcentre level so the assessment asked for is not available, but statutory homelessness and rough sleeping figures for Croydon are available within Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government’s homelessness statistical release: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-homelessness. The causes of homelessness are numerous, varied and complex.. A joint study between the Department and the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, has shown that there is not a direct causal link between welfare and homelessness. This report was published on 25 March 2019 and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/causes-of-homelessness-and-rough-sleeping-feasibility-study. Attributing homelessness to a single Governmental policy would simplify the issue, and this approach would wrongly deny it the multi-faceted approach which we’re committed to delivering. It is our priority to ensure that those who are homeless, or at risk of homelessness, get the appropriate support to stabilise their lives and move into work. We have provided around £1 billion in Discretionary Housing Payment funding since 2011 to protect the most vulnerable claimants. There is a range of support available for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, such as access to Alternative Payment Arrangements, easements to work-search requirements and partnerships between Jobcentres and homeless charities and housing services. By law, work coaches in England must offer a voluntary referral to claimants they consider may be homeless or threatened with homelessness to a Local Housing Authority. Data on homelessness by local authority level, provided by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/homelessness-statistics.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Squirrels: Conservation

Trudy Harrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to prevent the potential extinction of red squirrels in the UK.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: This is devolved matter and the below information relates to England only. The Government is committed to protecting and expanding red squirrel populations and tackling the threats that grey squirrels pose to them. The Forestry Commission works with Natural England and other conservation organisations and projects to help protect red squirrel enclaves and to allow the populations to expand. The Forestry Commission also undertakes a number of actions to protect red squirrels from the impact of grey squirrels as outlined in the grey squirrel action plan for England. These actions include Countryside Stewardship funding for landowners who choose to help protect red squirrels within designated reserves. Defra, in partnership with the United Kingdom Squirrel Accord, has also provided funding for work by the Animal and Plant Health Agency for the development of a fertility control method for grey squirrels. This research continues to show promise as one potentially effective and humane method to control grey squirrel numbers in the longer term.

Food: Labelling

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to introduce stronger food labelling laws.

David Rutley: The UK has world-leading standards of food information backed by a rigorous legislative framework. Following EU withdrawal, we have committed to reviewing food labelling laws to ensure that consumers’ confidence in the food they buy continues to grow.We are currently conducting a review of allergen labelling, which is looking at ways to improve the provision of allergen information for prepacked for direct sale food products. We recently ran a UK wide consultation jointly with the Food Standards Agency in England, Northern Ireland and Wales, and Food Standards Scotland. We are now in the process of analysing the responses we received in order to determine how allergen labelling can be improved for food products which are prepacked for direct sale so that consumers have complete trust in those foods.

Home Office

Stop and Search

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reasons he is increasing the use of section 60 stop and searches without first reviewing their effectiveness in tackling crime; and if will undertake such a review.

Mr Nick Hurd: The government has made it simpler for police in seven forces particularly affected by serious violent crime to use stop and search powers set out Section 60 (s60) of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, in anticipation of serious violence.These changes will help the police to tackle serious violence by enabling 3,000 more officers to authorise their use. S60s are publicly communicated, which the police believe can deter individuals from carrying weapons into areas in which these powers are known to be in operation.These changes are being piloted for up to 12 months, and we have been clear that no one should be stopped based on their race or ethnicity. All forces will continue to collect and report data to the Home Office on the race and ethnicity of people searched, and the use of stop and search will also be inspected by HMICFRS as part of their annual inspection round.

Stop and Search: Racial Discrimination

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he he taken to safeguard against race disproportionality in the use of section 60 powers.

Mr Nick Hurd: The government has made it simpler for police in seven forces particularly affected by serious violent crime to use stop and search powers set out Section 60 (s60) of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, in anticipation of serious violence.These changes will help the police to tackle serious violence by enabling 3,000 more officers to authorise their use. S60s are publicly communicated, which the police believe can deter individuals from carrying weapons into areas in which these powers are known to be in operation.These changes are being piloted for up to 12 months, and we have been clear that no one should be stopped based on their race or ethnicity. All forces will continue to collect and report data to the Home Office on the race and ethnicity of people searched, and the use of stop and search will also be inspected by HMICFRS as part of their annual inspection round.

Immigrants: Detainees

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 1 April 2019 to Question 235392, what estimate he has made of the number of homeless foreign nationals detained by Immigration Compliance and Enforcement teams in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office does not hold the information requested in a reportable format. The data that is recorded on the housing conditions of migrants is largely volunteered by the migrants themselves, may not be reliable in all cases and does not allow for informed estimates of the numbers who are homeless. An attempt at an estimate requested could only be supplied at disproportionate cost.

Lancashire Constabulary: Proceeds of Crime

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much money Lancashire Constabulary was allowed to retain under section 298 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 in (a) 2017-18 and (b) 2018-19; what that money was used for; and to which organisations that money was donated.

Mr Ben Wallace: Under the Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme (ARIS), police forces and other agencies that seize and obtain the forfeiture of cash under s298 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 receive 50% of the amount forfeited. Lanca-shire Constabulary received the following amounts2017/18 = £77,5002018/19 = £142,500The use of ARIS allocations/payments is a matter for each agency but in-centive payments should be used to further drive up performance on asset recovery and, where appropriate, to fund local crime fighting priorities for the benefit of the community.

Fire and Rescue Services

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) full-time and (b) on-call firefighters were available for duty in each fire and rescue service in each year since 2010.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office does not hold data on the number of firefighters that were available for duty. Data are collected on how many firefighters are employed by fire and rescue services.The latest published statistics on firefighter numbers in England were published on 18 October 2018. The number of firefighters (full time equivalent) employed by FRSs in England on the 31st March each year are shown in the table below: 201020112012201320142015201620172018Wholetime firefighters29,73529,01828,16627,18526,18025,09823,88722,86722,580On-call firefighters11,89812,14911,51311,26910,98910,82810,4699,8949,760

Immigration: EU Nationals

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information will be passed to third party organisations from EU settlement applications.

Caroline Nokes: The process for information handling under the EU Settlement Scheme is set out in the Borders, Immigration and Citizenship System privacy information notice:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-information-use-in-borders-immigration-and-citizenship/borders-immigration-and-citizenship-privacy-information-notice

Immigration: EU Nationals

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how long will an unsuccessful applicant to the EU settlement scheme have to leave the UK.

Caroline Nokes: Resident EEA and Swiss citizens and their family members have until at least 31 December 2020 to make an application to the EU Settlement Scheme. Where an application is unsuccessful, the applicant will not generally be required to leave the UK and can make further applications to the scheme at any time before the deadline, unless their application has been refused for serious and persistent criminality or they have no lawful basis to remain in the UK (for example, because they are not an EEA or Swiss citi-zen or a family member of an EEA or Swiss citizen).

Immigration: EU Nationals

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how long will data gathered from EU settlement scheme applications be held by his Department.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office stores information in line with its data protection duties and guidance.Further information is set out in the Borders, Immigration and Citizenship privacy information notice:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-information-use-in-borders-immigration-and-citizenship/borders-immigration-and-citizenship-privacy-information-notice

British Nationality: Children

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make it his policy to refund profits made from failed citizenship applications for children.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office keeps its refund policy under review. We have committed to considering the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders, Immigration and Citizenship’s recommendations (made in his review entitled “An Inspection of the Home Office Borders, Immigration and Citizenship System’s policies and practises relating to charging and fees”) on refunds associated with refused nationality and settlement applications in the context of the next Spending Review.

Visas: Financial Services and Science

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Tier 5 Exceptional Talent visas were issued to people working in (a) FinTech and (b) science in 2018.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office does not hold the information requested in a reportable format. As such the information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Police: Recruitment

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the direct entry at Inspector scheme.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Direct Entry Inspector’s scheme launched in November 2016 and is attracting existing exceptional leaders from a range of backgrounds into policing, bringing fresh perspectives and new ideas. An evaluation of the scheme will be published in autumn 2019.

Refugees: Syria

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress the Government has made on integrating vulnerable refugee Syrian families into society.

Caroline Nokes: This Government is committed to ensuring that refugees can take positive steps towards integration as they rebuild their lives in the UK. All refugees in the UK have access to mainstream benefits and services to enable their integration; and we are working across Government to ensure services meet the needs of refugees.Local authorities resettling Syrian and other refugee families through the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS) are provided with funding from the Government to support integration, including to enable access to additional language tuition. The VPRS is being evaluated through a programme of quantitative data work and qualitative research with refugees and key delivery partners. A key focus of this work is examining integration progress to learn what works.More broadly, the Government published the Integrated Communities Action plan in February 2019, which includes a commitment to increase integration support for all refugees in the UK. We will focus on supporting refugees with English language, employment, mental health, and cultural orientation to life in the UK.

Cabinet Office

Public Sector: Ombudsman

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 27 March 2019 to Question 234661 on the draft Public Services Ombudsman Bill, what criteria the Government plans to use to determine whether the Housing Ombudsman Service will be brought within the scope of the Public Service Ombudsman.

Mr David Lidington: The Government has not yet established the criteria that would be used to make such adetermination. Any decision to introduce the necessary secondary legislation would need to take intoaccount feedback received during pre-legislative scrutiny and the passage of the Bill. In addition theGovernment published its response to Strengthening Consumer Redress in the Housing Marketconsultation on 24 January 2019 which set out proposals to establish a new Housing ComplaintsResolution Service to provide a single point of access to redress across all housing tenures.

Government Departments: Advertising

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 2 April 2019 to Question 238278, what the figures are for Government spending in the last six months on (a) newspaper and magazine and (b) radio adverts on the potential effects of the UK leaving the EU.

Mr David Lidington: To date the Cabinet Office have used a range of paid-for and no-cost channels to direct citizens and businesses to a dedicated area on GOV.UK at Gov.uk/euexit. The Cabinet Office has undertaken to publish information relating to ongoing expenditure on the public information campaign as part of the department’s regular data transparency releases. In conjunction, Cabinet Office will disclose full costs regarding future advertising as part of these data sets in due course.

Constituencies

Catherine West: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government still plans to bring forward the 2018 Boundary Commission proposals to Parliament.

Chloe Smith: We are preparing a draft Order in Council that will give effect to the recommendations contained in the final reports of the four Boundary Commissions.The draft Order in Council will be subject to a debate and a vote in both Houses in the usual way.

Treasury

Companies: Regulation

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reasons the Financial Conduct Authority is allowed to give Part FCA Regulated accreditation to companies which are then permitted to market themselves as FCA regulated to investors.

John Glen: This is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is operationally independent from Government. The question has been passed on to the FCA. The FCA will reply directly to the honourable member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Mortgages

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to encourage greater switching and transparency in the UK mortgage market.

John Glen: The FCA’s final report of the Mortgage Market Study found that there are high levels of consumer engagement, with over three quarters of consumers switching to a new mortgage deal within 6 months of moving onto a reversion rate. The Government has worked closely with the FCA to consider how to remove the regulatory barriers that prevent some customers, particularly those with inactive lenders, from accessing better deals. The Government welcomes the FCA’s plans to move the affordability assessment from an absolute test to a relative one. This change removes the regulatory barrier that prevented some customers, who otherwise may have been able to switch, from accessing new mortgage products. The Government also welcomes the industry voluntary agreement covering 95% of the UK mortgage market to help ‘trapped’ customers of active lenders. Transparency and fairness in the mortgage market is a priority for the Government. The Treasury welcomes and supports the work the FCA are doing to improve this as a result of their findings in the final report of the Mortgage Market Study. The Government will continue to monitor the market and support the FCA when necessary.

Small Businesses: Government Assistance

Mr David Davis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much funding has been allocated to support small businesses to help with customs requirements after the UK leaves the EU.

Mel Stride: The government is investing £8 million to increase capacity in the customs intermediaries sector, and help support business ahead of the UK leaving the EU. This includes £5 million in grant funding for training and IT improvements which is available to customs intermediaries and traders who complete customs declarations, and £3 million which is being used to increase training provision in this area. Applications are still being received for the grant scheme, but as of 1 April 2019 378 applications have been submitted. Applications are subject to a review process once submitted, and so far 99 grants have either been offered or have already been paid‎.

Sentient Capital London

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reasons the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) gave regulated FCA accreditation to Sentient Capital.

John Glen: This is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is operationally independent from Government. The question has been passed on to the FCA. The FCA will reply directly to the honourable member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Small Businesses: Loans

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to further regulate lending to small businesses.

John Glen: The Government set out its position on the regulation of lending to small businesses in its response to the Treasury Select Committee’s SME Finance Report. This is available here: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmtreasy/1873/187302.htm

London Capital and Finance

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, why the Financial Conduct Authority gave FCA regulated accreditation to London Capital and Finance (LC&F) on 7 June 2016 for LC&F's promotional activities and not its products; and for what reasons LC&F was permitted to market itself as regulated by the FCA.

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Financial Conduct Authority was aware of the level of commission payments made to Surge Financial for promoting London Capital & Finance minibonds.

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether Surge Financial was required to be regulated by the FCA when promoting London Capital and Finance’s (LC&F) mini-bonds, following the FCA's granting of regulated accreditation to LC&F on 7 June 2016 for promotional activities and not products.

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Financial Conduct Authority took in response to the letter dated 29 November 2015 from financial advisor Neil  Liversidge on London Capital and Finance's promotional activities.

John Glen: On 1 April, the Economic Secretary announced that he will use powers under the Financial Services Act 2012 to direct the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to launch an investigation into the events at London Capital & Finance and the circumstances surrounding them. This followed a request from the FCA Chair, Charles Randell, to the Economic Secretary to launch such an investigation. The investigation will be led by an independent person appointed by the FCA, with the approval of HM Treasury. Further details of the independent investigation, including its terms, will be communicated in due course.

Mortgages: Islam

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March to Question 229779, which four high street banks offer Sharia-compliant home purchase plans.

John Glen: The four banks serving the UK which offer Sharia-compliant home purchase plans are: Al Rayan Bank, United National Bank, Ahli United Bank and ABC International Bank.

Equitable Life Assurance Society: Compensation

Faisal Rashid: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will reopen the compensation scheme for Equitable Life victims.

John Glen: Since 2010, we have taken more action than any previous government to resolve this issue by allocating up to £1.5bn, tax free, for payment to affected policyholders. There are no plans to allocate any further funds to the Equitable Life Payment Scheme, or reopen it.

Developing Countries: Loans

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on levels of transparency of making public the loans made by UK Government and its EU partners to the Global South.

Elizabeth Truss: The main UK government agencies involved in lending to developing countries are: UK Export Finance (UKEF) and (historic loans only) the Department for International Development (DfID). Both publish details of the guarantees and loans they provide in their Annual Report and Accounts, which are published on their websites. Where UKEF provides financing for public borrowers or guarantors in developing countries, it is subject to OECD Sustainable Lending Principles. The UK strongly believes that transparency of loans is an important driver of debt sustainability. Given the complex international nature of sovereign debt, we continue to believe that internationally-agreed approaches are the most effective way to improve sovereign debt transparency and sustainability. We are working with our EU partners, and others, through the G20 to ensure the ongoing implementation of the G20’s agreed Operational Guidelines for Sustainable Financing for official creditors in 2017.

Regional Assistance

Marion Fellows: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 3 April 2019 to Question 238660, how much of the Barnett figures in the referenced publications derived from regional aid spending in (a) Scotland, (b) Wales, (c) Northern Ireland and (d) each region of England in each year since 2009.

Elizabeth Truss: The Barnett formula is applied to all changes in the budgets of UK Government departments rather than to specific areas of spending. It is not therefore possible to say how much funding the devolved administrations received in relation to departmental spending on regional aid in England. In addition, Barnett consequentials do not arise from any spending in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland where there is no change to UK Government departmental spending. EU funding for regional aid expenditure also does not attract Barnett consequentials as there are separate arrangements for allocating these funds between departments and the devolved administrations.

London Capital and Finance

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Financial Conduct Authority on the collapse of London Capital & Finance Ltd.

John Glen: The Government takes very seriously the failure of London Capital and Finance (LCF). On 1 April, I wrote to the Chair at the Financial Conduct Authority, Charles Randell, to say I will use powers under the Financial Services Act 2012 to direct the FCA to launch an investigation into the events at LCF and the circumstances surrounding them. This followed a request to me from Charles Randell to launch such an investigation.

Equitable Life Assurance Society: Compensation

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the £1.5 billion allocated for Equitable Life compensation, what proportion of that sum has been paid out; and what the reasons are for the amount that has not yet been paid out.

John Glen: The Equitable Life Payment Scheme published a final report in 2016 which set out the details of payments made and how the remaining funds will be allocated. A copy can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equitable-life-payment-scheme-final-report

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Sports: Betting

Paul Girvan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the level of advertising of betting products is reduced in relation to sporting events.

Mims Davies: There are strict controls on the content of all gambling advertisements, including broadcast adverts and online. Gambling operators who advertise in the UK must comply with the advertising codes, which aim to ensure gambling advertising does not exploit vulnerable people, or target or appeal particularly to children or young people. TV adverts must be pre-cleared by Clearcast and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) acts on complaints and proactively checks the media to take action against misleading, harmful or offensive advertisements. The Gambling Commission also has a range of powers, including issuing fines, if operators break the rules. The government's Review of Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility Measures, published last May, looked at protections around gambling advertising and concluded it would remain under review. It set out a package of measures to strengthen existing protections further, including tough new guidance from the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) on protecting vulnerable people and children and a multi-million pound safer gambling advertising campaign. This launched in February and is aimed at reducing risky and impulsive gambling. GambleAware has commissioned major new research on the impact of gambling advertising on children, young people and vulnerable groups, which will be published later this year. The gambling industry also recently announced that it will introduce a whistle-to-whistle ban on adverts during sporting events in response to public concerns. This is expected to come into force this summer. We will monitor this implementation closely.

National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies relating to potential development in the Victoria Tower Gardens of his duties under section 8 (1) of the London County Council (Improvements) Act 1900.

Michael Ellis: The Government decided to locate the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre in Victoria Tower Gardens so that the view of Parliament from the Memorial will serve as a permanent reminder that political decisions have far-reaching consequences. The development of plans will take proper account of relevant legislation and regulations.

National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make it his policy to consult the public before allowing part of Victoria Tower Gardens to be used for the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre.

Michael Ellis: The Government decided to locate the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre in Victoria Tower Gardens so that the view of Parliament from the Memorial will serve as a permanent reminder that political decisions have far-reaching consequences. A public consultation is currently being undertaken by Westminster City Council on the planning proposals put forward to build the Holocaust Memorial in Victoria Tower Gardens.

Third Sector: Finance

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he has made an estimate of funds that will be made available to the civil society sector under the Dormant Assets Scheme.

Mims Davies: The dormant assets scheme has already distributed over £600m for the benefit of good causes. The Dormant Assets Commission, which reported on the feasibility of expanding the scheme in 2017, estimated that there may be up to £2bn of additional dormant assets that could be transferred into the scheme. This could significantly increase the quantity of funds available for good causes across the country. Building on the work of the Commission, and supported by HMT and DCMS, four senior industry leaders published a blueprint in April 2019 for broadening the scheme to include assets from the insurance and pensions, investment and wealth management, and securities sectors. Quantifying dormancy was not within the scope of this work.

Voluntary Work: Young People

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer 4 Apr 2019 to Question 238657 on Voluntary Work: Young People, whether the maximum budget allocated to NCS was lowered when the maximum participation ceiling allocated to NCS was revised downwards in the 2017 revised Spending Review.

Mims Davies: The maximum budget available for NCS was lowered in line with the lowered participation ceiling in the 2017 revised Spending Review settlement.

Prime Minister

Food Supply

Layla Moran: To ask the Prime Minister, what steps she is taking as Chair of the EU Exit and Trade (Preparedness) Sub-Committee to protect vulnerable people from a potential food crisis in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Mrs Theresa May: The UK has an excellent level of food security, built on a range of sources, which will continue to be the case as we leave the EU. The Government’s ambition is to leave in an orderly way with a deal, and without undue delay.

Northern Ireland Office

Parades: Northern Ireland

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps her Department is taking to safeguard the rights of Northern Ireland's loyalist community to celebrate the twelfth of July.

Karen Bradley: This Government is committed to building a Northern Ireland in which all parts of the community and main cultural traditions are fully respected. Under the Public Processions (NI) Act 1998, the Parades Commission is responsible for operational matters relating to parading, acting independently of Government. The Commission is accountable to the courts for its operational decisions.

Culture: Northern Ireland

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what support her Department is providing for the maintenance of the cultural traditions of Northern Ireland's loyalist community.

Karen Bradley: Culture is a devolved policy area in Northern Ireland. The Government provides the block grant each year, from which the Northern Ireland Executive allocates funding. I visited the Twelfth of July parades last year in Newtownards. I have also met representatives of the loyal orders and wider loyalist community on a number of occasions, as have my Ministerial colleagues and officials.

Nurses: Epilepsy

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether the Government plans to take steps to tackle the shortage of adult epilepsy specialist nurses in Northern Ireland.

John Penrose: Provision of Epilepsy care and support is provided by the Department of Health in Northern Ireland. Requests for information relating to the strategy for delivery of these services, or development of future plans, should be made to the Permanent Secretary of the Department of Health. His contact details are as follows: Richard.Pengelly@health-ni.gov.uk

Women and Equalities

Females: Education

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Education on the provision of (a) inclusive and (b) positive education about periods and the human body in schools.

Victoria Atkins: The Minister for Women and Equalities recently announced a new Taskforce that will bring together representatives from all sectors to develop comprehensive and sustainable solutions to period poverty. Preparation for this has included discussions with a number of Ministerial colleagues. The Taskforce will present the opportunity for discussions on education around menstruation. The government is making Health Education compulsory in all state-funded schools, alongside Relationships Education for all primary pupils, and Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) for all secondary pupils from September 2020. As part of this subject, all pupils will be taught about menstruation and menstrual wellbeing at a timely point.

Equal Pay: Gender

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference the publication of the pay comparison data collected by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, what steps her Department is taking to tackle the gender pay gap; and if she will make a statement.

Victoria Atkins: In 2017 we introduced ground-breaking regulations requiring large employers to publish their gender pay gaps annually. We have recently passed the second reporting deadline, and over 10,000 employers have provided their data. The Equality and Human Rights Commission will take action with those who have failed to report or provided inaccurate data. We are supporting employers to take action to reduce their gaps. We have recently published guidance on how to diagnose the causes of a gap and how to create an effective action plan. The government is also taking action to close the gender pay gap by making flexible working a reality for all employees, introducing Shared Parental Leave, supporting the Hampton-Alexander Review to increase the number of women in senior leadership positions, and doubling the childcare entitlement for working parents of 3 and 4 year olds.

Guide Dogs

Layla Moran: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking to improve the enforcement of the Equality Act 2010 in relation to access to businesses and services for people with guide dogs.

Victoria Atkins: It is unacceptable that users of assistance dogs experience unlawful discrimination in the provision of goods, services or public functions. The Equality Act 2010 places a duty on organisations and service providers to make reasonable adjustments to improve access to premises and services so that disabled customers, including those with assistance dogs, have the same access to goods and services and are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled customers. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is the public body responsible for enforcing the Equality Act. In 2017, the EHRC published two pieces of guidance - a guide to help businesses understand what they can do to meet their legal duties to assistance dog owners, and a guide to help tourism businesses welcome people with access requirements. The EHRC supports disabled individuals who have experienced discrimination to take their cases to court. The Government’s tailored review of the EHRC, published in November 2018, has recommended that EHRC should focus on the use of its unique powers as enforcer and regulator of the Equality Act. The Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) provides free bespoke advice and in-depth support to individuals by telephone (0808 800 0082), textphone (0808 800 0084) or via the EASS website.